Paul King is developing a solo film based on an often overshadowed Disney character, Prince Charming. After successfully launching the Paddington franchise and having a surprise hit with the musical Wonka, King will team with Disney on his next film. He has emerged as one of the most beloved and exciting filmmakers currently working today and seemingly can take a bad idea on paper and turn it into a hit. He made a name for himself directing all 20 episodes of the surreal comedy series The Mighty Boosh on BBC and has since directed Paddington, the more beloved Paddington 2, and Wonka.
Deadline has reported that Paul King is set to direct a Prince Charming film, making it the first time the character has become the focus of a Disney movie in his own right. King will co-write the script alongside British comedian and Paddington 2 co-writer Simon Farnaby and Jon Croker, who did additional work on Paddington 2. Prince Charming has become a standard catch-all name for many of Disney’s classic princes. However, the only one who goes by the moniker is the one from Cinderella, though Deadline reports that King’s Prince Charming will not specifically be linked to that story.
Prince Charming has a long history on screen, mostly thanks to Disney. William Edward Phillips voiced Cinderella‘s Prince Charming with his singing voice provided by Mike Douglas in the 1950 Disney animated film. Paolo Montalban played the 1997 Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella Disney television film, where he was named Prince Christopher. He recently reprised the role in Descendants: The Rise of Red, where he was credited as King Charming. In 2015’s live-action remake of Cinderella, Richard Madden played Prince Charming here, given the name Kit. While Prince Charming is a prominent character in the live-action ABC series Once Upon a Time, played by Joshua Dallas, the Charming title is actually used for Snow White’s Prince. The Cinderella Prince Charming only appears in two episodes as Prince Thomas, played by Tim Phillips.
What Disney Live-Action Movies Are Coming Soon?
Prince Charming is another of many Disney live-action reimaginings of their classic stories in development. However, Prince Charming seems to have more in common with Maleficent, Cruella, and Christopher Robin, movies that take specific characters outside the stories they originally played a role in. This year, Disney are expanding one of their most successful remakes with Mufasa: The Lion King, which will open on December 20, 2024. After that, Snow White and Lilo & Stitch remakes are slated for release in 2025, with Moana set for 2026. There are many others that have been announced, but so far do not have set release dates and could yet fall by the wayside. These include Hercules, The Aristocats, and Bambi. That also doesn’t account for previously announced spin-offs that Disney have reportedly scrapped, like Prince Anders, which was a spin-off of Aladdin, or Little Town, which would have seen Luke Evans and Josh Gad reprise their roles as Gaston and LeFou from Beauty and the Beast.
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While Prince Charming certainly is an odd choice on paper, that makes it ideally suited for Paul King. Paddington seemed like just another talking animal kids movie like Garfield or The Smurfs, but it went on to be a delightful family film that gained positive reviews from critics and launched a beloved film franchise. A Willy Wonka prequel was a bad idea on paper, but King and his collaborators made Wonka into another treat for the whole family with great songs. Even the fact that Prince Charming is inherently a stock character that fans mix up among the princes from Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty makes for a potentially fun comedic premise, exploring what the character is worth when nobody can remember his name but only his role in a story, whichever story that may be.