Real Steel Series Is In The Works At Disney+

It's a great day to be a fan of giant mecha robots punching each other, because Disney+ is reportedly in the early stages of developing a series version of "Real Steel" for the streaming app. The series would be based on both Richard Matheson's short story, "Steel" and the 2011 Hugh Jackman film adaptation. The project is still in wicked early development, so there's no telling what direction the creative team is going to take regarding whether this will be a sequel, reboot, or something else entirely. Set in the not-too-distant future, "Real Steel" is a world where human boxing just can't do it for us anymore, and we've pivoted to battling gigantic robots. Our hero Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a washed up boxer whose robots keep losing, but after he and his estranged son come across an old sparring robot with potential in a junkyard, the film turns into a robotical "Rocky."

"Real Steel" film director Shawn Levy has signed on to executive produce the series through his film and television production company 21 Laps Entertainment. Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke of Compari Entertainment will also executive produce, in addition to Jacqueline Levine, and Susan Montford, and Don Murphy of Angry Films. Although the series will be part of Disney Branded Television, it will also be produced by 20th Television.

There's no guarantee that the "Real Steel" series will make it all the way through production, but if it does, it will be another attempt from the Disney+ streaming service to breathe new life into their intellectual properties library, including the new content they've acquired over the years through purchases and mergers. Disney+ has had a pretty successful run of shows based on Marvel and "Star Wars" properties as well as their Disney fare like "The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers" and "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series." Unfortunately their attempts to revive "Turner & Hooch" or "Home Sweet Home Alone" have had mixed results at best.

All things considered, "Real Steel" could absolutely be the ticket for Disney+. The premise on its own is an easy sell, but with the amount of robot content available thanks to the droids of "Star Wars," a show like "Real Steel" would fit perfectly in the weekly watch rotation. Not just a punchy battle bots movie, there's an element of underdog achievement in "Real Steel" that feels comparable to a lot of the feel-good sports films Disney put out in the 1990s and 2000s like "The Mighty Ducks," "The Rookie," "Air Bud." The streaming app already has a roster of new interpretations of existing IP coming like "National Treasure," "Willow," and "The Spiderwick Chronicles," so here's hoping we can add "Real Steel" to the list.