The Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer To Helm Rescue Rangers Movie
The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that the upcoming live-action/CG-hybrid adaptation of Disney’s classic cartoon Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers has found its director in The Lonely Island veteran and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping co-writer/co-director Akiva Schaffer.
RELATED: Disney is Developing a Live-Action/CG Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers Movie
Created by Tad Stones and Alan Zaslove, the series aired on The Disney Channel from 1989 to 1990 (a preview episode aired on August 27, 1988). It featured Chip ‘n’ Dale along with their friends Gadget Hackwrench, Zipper and Monterey Jack as they faced off against some of the most outrageous villains the world has ever seen.
It hasn’t been determined by Disney whether the film will receive a theatrical release or premiere on its upcoming streaming service Disney+ and plot details are currently being kept under wraps, however, it was announced that it will neither act as an origin or detective story but rather a meta take on the characters.
This self-referential take makes Schaffer the best fit for helming the project as his work on the long-running NBC sketch series Saturday Night Live and the music comedy mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which he starred in and developed alongside his two Lonely Island compatriots, all featured a level of fourth-wall breaking and meta feel.
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The script is being penned by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand (Most Likely to Murder) and is being produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman from Mandeville Films, who have a longstanding working relationship with Disney going all the way back to 1997’s George of the Jungle and most recently including the 2011 Muppets movie and its 2014 sequel and the live-action remake of the acclaimed fantasy musical Beauty and the Beast.