If you’re a fan of director Shawn Levy’s Real Steel and wished the story had continued in a sequel or spinoff, I’ve got some cool news to share: Disney is in early development on a Real Steel Disney+ series.
I’d heard about Disney wanting to do the series months ago, but the big holdup was all the people that produced the movie and working out their existing contracts. Since all of the players had to agree to new deals, it took time to work it out. But now that the contracts are settled and signed, the studio is currently searching for a writer to flesh out what the series would be.
If you don’t remember the movie, which was released in 2011, Hugh Jackman stars as a washed-up boxer who reconnects with his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) as they build and train a fighting robot to fight in the World Robot Boxing championship. Real Steel also stars Anthony Mackie, Evangeline Lilly and Hope Davis, and it’s one of those movies that manages to blend story and motion-capture technology in a cool way. One of the things that most impressed me was the way Levy created the world of the film; it’s the kind of place that could easily be further explored in a series and it definitely would feel right at home on Disney+.
Real Steel was one of those movies that made a lot of money at the box office (over 300 million) but didn’t make so much that the studio felt like a sequel had to happen. Perhaps ten years later it’s finally going to continue telling the story in a way that’s even better, because you can explore more of the world on a series. In addition, while I’d love to see Hugh Jackman return for a role or even a cameo, the series can absolutely exist with an all-new set of characters exploring another part of the Real Steel world.
The executive producers on the Real Steel Disney+ series include Levy, Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke, Jacqueline Levine, Susan Montford and Don Murphy.
Levy’s company 21 Laps' credits include the recent Disney hit Free Guy, which was the top-grossing original hit of the pandemic era, earning $331 million globally. Upcoming projects include the Levy-helmed time travel adventure The Adam Project, and new seasons of the hit 21 Laps series Stranger Things, Shadow and Bone and Unsolved Mysteries.
Murphy and Montford are in production on Vampire Academy based on the novels by Richelle Mead for Peacock and are producing the fast tracked Buck Rogers for Legendary with George Clooney and Smokehouse. They both produced the original film. Murphy is also producing next year’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts for Paramount.
More as we hear it.