Exclusive: 'Honey I Shrunk The Kid' Reboot 'Shrunk' In The Works With Josh Gad To Star

We have exclusively learned that Walt Disney Pictures is developing a reboot of Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, with Josh Gad attached to star. Here's what we know about the reboot, which will be set in the same universe as the original movies.

I have independently confirmed with three sources that Walt Disney Pictures has signed actor Josh Gad to star in a Honey, I Shrunk The Kids reboot/sequel. In the original film, Rick Moranis played a scientist father who accidentally shrinks his teenage son and daughter (alongside some neighborhood kids) to just a quarter of an inch in size. They must then adventure through their backyard to return home while fending off insects and other massive-sized obstacles.

The plan is for the movie to be set about three decades after the 1989 original, with Gad set to play the grown-up version of scientist and inventor Wayne Szalinski's son, Nick Szalinski. The new movie, which will be titled Shrunk, will be a reboot of the original film, but positioned as a "legecyequel," which means it will exist in the same world and continue the overall storyline. And yes, Nick Szalinski accidentally shrinks his kids, which kickstarts the story of the film.

In February 2018, it was reported that live-action remakes of several films are in development as exclusive content for Walt Disney Studios' upcoming streaming service, Disney+, with a Honey, I Shrunk the Kids remake named alongside the possibilities. However, we're told that this project is aiming for a theatrical release and will not be a Disney+ original. Disney is currently on the lookout for a filmmaker who has nostalgia for the original property. Joe Johnston's directorial debut became Disney's highest-grossing live-action film, a record it held for five years. Its success spawned two sequels, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and the direct-to-video Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, and spawned a television show that ran from 1997 to 2000.

Josh Gad has a very strong relationship with the Mouse House, having voiced Olaf in the Frozen movies, co-starred as LeFou in the live action Beauty and the Beast movie, and he plays Mulch Diggums in the upcoming film Artemis Fowl. He has a bunch of projects in development at Disney, including a new Muppets TV series titled Muppets Live Another Day for Disney+, and an untitled family comedy pitch that he sold with his writing partner Ryan Dixon.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was a fun family adventure film, and in a world where Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is actually good, it's not hard to imagine Shrunk taking on a similar trajectory. The visual effects for the 1989 film were the top of the line at the time, and were mostly a combination of miniatures and larger-than-life practical sets. It might be interesting to see how far they could push this concept now with the progression of CGI effects. Just look at Marvel's Ant-Man films as an example of some of the fun tentpole action scenes that could be explored in a modern day reboot. And I like Josh Gad when he's paired with the right material, and this seems like the exact kind of fun project in which his over-the-top comedy might excel. And of course, there are certainly many '90s kids who now have kids of their own and might buy a ticket.