If you’re old enough to remember when the original Lilo & Stitch came out in theaters, then you’ll remember the fantastic movie trailers that came along with it. They saw Stitch showing up in other Disney animated movies and wreaking havoc on the characters. Now the new live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch is on the way, and Disney is up to its old tricks.
We previously saw a teaser for next summer’s Lilo & Stitch that was released on the eve of Moana 2’s debut last month. Now, with Mufasa: The Lion King releasing in theaters on Friday, we’re back here again, with Stich taking his place as the new “king.” Check out the full teaser above. There’s also a new poster to go along with the Lion King theme.
I love this. The idea is nostalgic, perfect for the generation that grew up with the original Lilo & Stitch, one of the underrated great Disney animated movies, and for the modern generation of Disney fans who are looking forward to all the new upcoming Disney movies that are coming our way over the next several months.
We’re almost certain to get a trailer like this for Snow White, which is getting its own live-action remake a couple of months before Lilo & Stitch comes out. However, I’m wondering if we might also see Stitch invade the MCU. We’re getting two upcoming Marvel movies between now and then, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts*. We might see Stitch in those trailers as well which would be excellent.
Personally, I’m holding out hope that we could even see live-action versions of the original Lilo & Stitch teasers, but done in live-action. Imagine Emma Watson and Dan Stevens reuniting for a Beauty & the Beast dance invaded by Stitch, or Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud performing “ A Whole New World” before Stitch gets in the way. There was also a Lilo & Stitch teaser that poked fun at The Little Mermaid and considering all three of those movies have already seen live-action remakes, the opportunity is just too perfect.
I grant you ads like that would be expensive and time-consuming to produce, but they’d certainly be memorable. It would make for a pretty incredible Super Bowl ad and it would be perfectly timed if they wanted to do something like that.
Having said all this, I’m also looking forward to when we get the first full trailer of the new Lilo & Stitch. As much fun as Stitch can be the thing that makes the animated original such a great movie is the relationship between Lilo and her sister, and how the remake handles that part of the drama will ultimately determine how the new version stands up.
