Overview
- The project was first reported on Thursday, July 9, when trade outlets said Warner Bros. is developing a reimagining of the 1993 film with Anthony and Joe Russo’s production company AGBO attached as producers.
- Writers Mary‑Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett have been tapped to script the film while AGBO producers Angela Russo‑Otstot, Michael Disco and Kassee Whiting will produce and the Russos will serve as executive producers.
- Beyond the creative attachments and studio oversight, no director, cast, plot details or release plan have been announced and early coverage stresses the project remains in development.
- Coverage notes that contemporary animal‑welfare laws and VFX advances make using a real orca highly unlikely, with VFX supervisors and legal changes in places like Canada and California pointing toward a digital Willy.
- The move revives a culturally significant franchise whose 1993 original and its real orca Keiko helped reshape public views on captivity, and it fits a wider studio trend of reusing familiar family IP with high‑profile producers to reach nostalgic audiences.