Danny DeVito reportedly returning to reprise role in Disney's live action Hercules remake
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, Disney
Stefania Sarrubba
Featured Image Credit: AFF/Alamy Stock Photo/Disney
Topics: Film and TV, Celebrity, Disney
Danny DeVito is reportedly returning as Phil in Disney's upcoming live-action remake of Hercules.
The It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star voiced sarcastic satyr Philoctetes in the 1997 beloved animated movie, seeing his character take the titular super-strong demigod under his wing and help him control his power.
While DeVito didn't return for the animated series in 1998, in which Phil was voiced by Robert Costanzo, it seems that the Matilda actor may channel his inner satyr for the live-action remake.
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"I am the live-action Hercules," DeVito joked when asked if he'd return during the WIRED Autocomplete Interview last year.
"If they don’t put me in that, they don’t have a hair on their ass," he added.
Produced by the Russo brothers (Avengers: Endgame, The Gray Man) and directed by Guy Ritchie (Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes series), the live-action film is in early development.
Giant Freakin Robot reports that insiders have revealed DeVito will return as Phil, but there hasn't been any official confirmation so far.
UNILAD has contacted Danny DeVito's representatives for a comment.
Meanwhile, it seems that Phil isn't the only role the Taxi star is keen on reprising.
In 2021, the actor discussed the possibility of returning as DC villain Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin, a character he first played in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, released in 1992.
"I feel like it's not out of the question that The Penguin will return someday, but this is all up to Tim [Burton], whether or not Tim wants to do this," he told Forbes two years ago.
"I would say that could be in the cards because we ain't dead yet.
"We could do a continuation of what we had in the past because that was truly a brilliant movie.
"They afforded me that opportunity and I feel very grateful and would I like to revisit it? Why not! It was a really great moment in time for me."
And while a new Penguin-featuring film with DeVito may not be on the cards right now, the iconic baddie has been recently portrayed by Colin Farrell in Matt Reeves' The Batman, with Robert Pattinson in the titular role.
Farrell will return in the role for an already confirmed HBO Max series also starring How I Met Your Mother actress Cristin Milioti, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Michael Kelly.
Simply titled The Penguin, it is expected to premiere later in the year or in early 2024.