He helped launch the MCU in 2008 with Iron Man after what had already been a successful directing career that included the Christmas classic Elf, and a decade later entered the GFFA with The Mandalorian after The ‘live action’ Jungle Book, followed by the billion dollar remake of The Lion King. Now, Jon Favreau is innovating again, leading the charge to bring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to the screen, hoping to make the predecessor of Mickey Mouse truly famous after a century in the wings.
Over the last decade, Jon Favreau has been a linchpin of Disney+‘s original series slate with flagship The Mandalorian and its offshoots while also taking on classic Disney animated characters on the feature side with the live-action/photorealistically animated The Jungle Book and the photorealistically animated The Lion King. Now he is combining the two with a new series in development at Disney+, Deadline has learned.
The animation/live action hybrid is about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a saucy, self-absorbed bunny. Favreau is writing and producing the project from Walt Disney Studios.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is very important to the Walt Disney Co. The cartoon, which bears close resemblance to Mickey Mouse, has a fractured history with the company and played a pivotal role in the creation of Disney’s most famous animated character. Oswald was created in 1927 by Walt Disney and featured in 27 animated shorts. But after Universal took control of the character in 1928, Disney created a new character as a replacement: Mickey Mouse.
What could this mean for Favreau’s continued involvement in the Mandoverse? An ongoing TV series will suck up plenty of time, as will his inevitable return to the MCU for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. We’ll be sure to discuss this and much more on the next episode of Making Tracks, out next Tuesday.
