Adam Shankman, the helmer behind Hairspray and Rock of Ages, is in negotiations to direct Disenchanted, the sequel to Disney’s 2007 musically-inclined fantasy that starred Amy Adams.
Adams is expected to return for the sequel, which Disney is hoping to get before cameras in summer 2017, several sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
Kevin Lima directed the original movie, which tackled the idea of a prototypical Disney princess thrust into the real-world, with songs and true love following.
Adams starred as Giselle who is due to marry her Prince Charming (James Marsden) when she is plucked from her animated world and into the live-action world of New York City. There she encounters a lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) who is due to marry someone totally wrong for him (Idina Menzel). The movie also featured Susan Sarandon as a Maleficent-style evil queen.
The movie featured songs by Alan Menken and grossed over $340 million worldwide ($127 million domestically). Disney has been developing a sequel since 2010 and Anne Fletcher was previously attached to direct.
Shankman is well-known to execs at Disney for his work as a director on light-hearted comedies Bringing Down the House, The Pacifier and Bedtime Stories. But he’s also shown a love for musicals with his all-star adaptations of Hairspray and Rock of Ages which had audiences humming in their seats.
Sources say Disenchanted is set ten years after the first movie, with Giselle finding herself questioning her happily ever after, and accidentally triggering events that make everyone's lives turn upside down in both the real world and in the animated kingdom of Andalasia.