Avengers: Doomsday directors to remake a beloved '90s Warner Bros. classic

Here’s a bit of news bound to baffle and amuse in equal measure: the Russo brothers, yes, those chaps behind Avengers: Doomsday, are now teaming up with Warner Bros. to dust off and rework Free Willy, that much-loved 90s family film. Apparently, the whale’s due another shot at stardom.

The Big Plan

The Russos’ company, AGBO Films, is joining forces with Warner Bros. for what’s being called a ‘reimagining’ of Free Willy. At the time of writing, there’s no official director attached, so don’t ask yet who is actually captaining the ship, so to speak.

The scripting duties are landing in the laps of Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett. If you’ve paid any attention to Marvel television, you might recognise Kunze’s name from her producing work on Daredevil, Cloak & Dagger, and Runaways, plus the slightly obscure The Boroughs. Bartlett’s last screenplay was Miller’s Girl from 2024, which—funny enough—Kunze also produced. Small world, the industry.

Remind Me—What’s Free Willy Again?

If your memory’s foggy: the original Free Willy, directed by Simon Wincer and released in 1993, was all about Jesse, a young orphan played by Jason James Richter. He befriends a killer whale held at an amusement park, gradually forms a bond with said whale (Willy), and ultimately hatches a plan to break the poor animal out of captivity after the trainers push it too far.

The film was a proper hit—earned more than $153 million worldwide and got the critics’ nod of approval while it was at it. Not only that, but it also spawned a handful of sequels and even a spin-off TV series. Get this: the entire franchise’s made over $187 million all in, with most of that thanks to the first outing.

Here’s Who’s Involved Behind the Scenes

• Production: Angela Russo-Otstot, Michael Disco, and Kassee Whiting (all from AGBO) are producing.
• Executive Producers: Anthony and Joe Russo (of course).
• Co-Producers: Lauren Shuler Donner and Courtney Baker.

Despite some crossover with Marvel talent, don’t expect the whale to snap anyone out of existence. Just saying.

It’s Not The First Time…

Warner Bros. has already tried spinning new life into this franchise once before. In 2010, they put out Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove, which kept the whale-in-jeopardy template but changed up the lead character (and, let’s be honest, didn’t exactly set the world alight).

One bit you probably care about: there is absolutely no release date yet. They’re at the early stages, so for now it’s all whales, no water.

'We can confirm a reimagining of Free Willy is in very early development,' as the official line goes.