Disney is making a live-action Medusa movie — and Dwayne Johnson is producing

If you ever thought Medusa deserved a proper turn in the Hollywood spotlight, apparently you aren't alone—because Disney is finally giving the legendary snake-haired Gorgon her own live-action feature, and it's got a rather intriguing team behind it.

Disney has ordered up a first draft for a live-action Medusa film, with Michael Montemayor writing the script and Dwayne Johnson producing through Seven Bucks Productions.

Who's Steering the Ship?

You might not have strong opinions about Michael Montemayor yet—honestly, most people would struggle to pick him out of a line-up at this point—but he's quietly building a reputation with a growing pile of high-profile projects. Alongside this Medusa film, he's penned the screenplay for Tangled (yes, a live-action version), which Disney are releasing in March 2028 with Michael Gracey attached to direct. He's also got Stepsisters on the go—a Cinderella spin-off, if you've not been keeping up with the fairy tale industrial complex—this time with Akiva Schaffer taking the director's chair.

The Medusa project marks another outing for Seven Bucks Productions, the company run by Dwayne Johnson, along with Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia. Not exactly a surprise—Seven Bucks are essentially a blockbuster factory at this point. They've got the next Jumanji film, ‘Open World’, about to drop at Christmas, and they've already netted $1.76 billion worldwide off Johnson’s previous Jumanji adventures alone. Plus, their partnership with Disney yielded Jungle Cruise back in 2021, so it looks like the Mouse House is very much sticking with the formula.

Medusa’s Makeover

If thinking about Medusa just brings up vague memories of Percy Jackson or one of the Clash of the Titans films—fair enough. Hollywood's never shied away from plonking the Gorgon into an action scene, but she’s always been more set piece than protagonist. This is the first time she’s getting her own full feature with Disney cash and global marketing muscle behind it.

• Medusa: Depending on which source you read (Greek original or later Roman revisionism), she’s either a monster from birth or a stunning mortal who got on Athena’s bad side and was cursed. Always, though—snake hair, turns people to stone for looking her in the eye.

The interesting bit here is that Disney and Montemayor aren’t just dusting off the standard myth and calling it a day. Official plot details are—no surprise—completely locked down, but Deadline are teasing that this’ll be an 'original' spin on the familiar story, for whatever that's worth. Hollywood's idea of 'original' admittedly covers a lot of ground, so whether that means full-blown tragedy, misunderstood antihero reform, or something with a tie-in plush line, your guess is as good as mine.

There’s also Melissa Fried attached to oversee the project for Seven Bucks, but otherwise, not a single detail about how they’ll tackle Medusa's backstory, cursed fate, or actual snake logistics. If the Disney team are feeling bold, maybe we’ll finally get a version that doesn’t flatten the Gorgon into a generic baddie—or maybe they’ll just make the snakes sing. With this setup, literally anything is possible.