Enchanted, indeed. Ten years ago, Amy Adams was but indie darling (with one Oscar nomination under her belt for the 2005 indie charmer Junebug) about to headline her first big-budget spectacle, Enchanted. Disney’s infectious, meta princess tale melded the worlds of animation and live-action and sparked a perfectly calibrated vehicle for her as a performer, cementing an A-list status for the now five-time Oscar nominee. Talks of a second installment – Enchanted earned $127 million domestically – have been around for a while but traction on the project appears finally ready to move forward as The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Adam Shankman (Hairspray) has signed on to helm sequel, entitled Disenchanted.
The first film featured Adams as Giselle, a princess from the animated world of Andalasia who through a dash of pixie dust exits a worm hole, finding herself in a very real New York City. Endearing and cheerily sunny, Giselle – committed to marrying Prince Charming (James Marsden) – instead ends up falling for an unhappy single dad (Patrick Dempsey) all the while being pursued by the villainous Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon). The film was a box office hit and a three-time Oscar nominee for its original songs penned by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; Adams also earned a Golden Globe nomination for her star-making performance.
With Disenchanted, we find Giselle tens years later in a crisis of sorts as she begins to question her fairly tale-perfect present. With a dash of magical ingredients one assumes, this crisis unleashes havoc for both her live-action present and her animated past. David Stem and David Weiss penned the script for the sequel, for which Adams is expected to return, as Shankman – who previously directed the musicals Rock of Ages and Hairspray, as well as the Disney comedy hit Bringing Down the House – looks to take over directing duties from Kevin Lima, the animation vet to helmed the original; Anne Fletcher (The Guilt Trip) was tapped earlier as a possibility to direct.
Disney hasn’t set a release date yet, nor have casting confirmations become public as of yet. That being said, the Mouse House is hoping the film can begin production sometime next summer.
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