Warner Bros. is developing a reimaging of the ’90s family adventure movie, “Free Willy,” produced by Anthony and Joe Russo’s AGBO.
The team has tapped Mary-Margaret Kunze (“Miller’s Girl,” “Icebreaker”) and Jade Halley Bartlett (“Miller’s Girl,” “The Boroughs”) to write a screenplay for the new movie.
Released in 1993, “Free Willy,” about an orphaned boy who befriends a captive orca, became a global phenomenon, grossing $153.7 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. (Michael Jackson’s theme song “Will You Be There” also became a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and went platinum.) “Free Willy” spawned multiple theatrical sequels, an animated television series, and a direct-to-video continuation. The movie, which starred an orca named Keiko, also dispelled myths about the killer whale and inspired activism around their captivity.
AGBO’s Angela Russo-Otstot, Michael Disco and Kassee Whiting will produce the film with executive producers including the Russo brothers and Lauren Shuler Donner, who has been behind the franchise since the original film. Courtney Baker is co-producing. Jesse Ehrman and Cate Adams are overseeing the project on behalf of the studio.
Kunze and Bartlett are creative partners under the Biscuit Belly Productions banner. In 2024, Bartlett made her directorial debut with Lionsgate’s “Miller’s Girl,” which she wrote and directed with Kunze producing. The script, which Bartlett adapted from her original play, was featured on the Black List in 2016; she made the list in 2017 with “Mad,” based on Chloe Espoisto’s novel. Most recently, she created the Netflix series “Icebreaker,” based on the novel by Hannah Grace.
Kunze most recently served as a non-writing co-executive producer on “The Boroughs” from the Duffer Brothers and Netflix. Her resume also includes serving as a non-writing executive producer on “A House on the Bayou” and “The Thing About Pam,” for Blumhouse Television, as well as a term as a creative executive at Marvel Television and co-producer on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Cloak & Dagger,” “Daredevil” and “The Runaways.”
Kunze is repped by CAA and Henry Huang at Heroes & Villains Entertainment, and Bartlett is repped by UTA and Henry Huang at Heroes & Villains Entertainment.
THR first reported news of the developing project.
Jade Halley Bartlett and Mary-Margaret Kunze.
