Disney Throws Out the Marvel Rulebook for 'Big Hero 6'
Five years after buying Marvel for $4 billion, Walt Disney Pictures will bring the comic book title Big Hero 6 to the screen on Nov. 7 in a full-length animated feature. We’ve got a first look at the poster here.
The difference between this super team and its live-action brethren? While the live-action Marvel films have always stayed true to the comic-book universe, Big Hero 6 was free to color outside the lines. “I wouldn’t call the movie ‘based on’; it’s more ‘inspired by,’” says director Don Hall (2011’s Winnie the Pooh) of the film’s connection to the original comic book by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau.
The movie centers on teenage boy Hiro and his faithful robot companion named Baymax. And while the two pals and the four superheroes they team up with do come from the book, Disney branched them off into their own distinct creation. “The universe we’re creating is not tied to the Marvel Universe,” Hall says. “There’s no Iron Man or anybody like that. It’s a world of our own design.” Hall consulted with the brains at Marvel, but never felt restricted by what had been established in print. “Really they’ve given us free rein to take this and make it our own,” he says.
Hall’s co-director Chris Williams (Bolt) admits that they aren’t expecting the title, which is one of Marvel’s more obscure comic lines, to be a draw in and of itself. “I think what Don saw was this really special relationship between the boy and the robot that could really lend itself to a Disney movie,” says Williams.
To get a first look at the heroes in action, come back to Yahoo Movies on Thursday at noon ET/9 am PT to see the exclusive teaser trailer. Big Hero 6 opens Nov. 7.
Photo credit: Walt Disney Pictures
