Hugh Jackman Blockbuster Getting Disney+ Show Spinoff

Disney’s ongoing quest to turn everything in its library into a Disney+ show has stopped at Real Steel, the 2011 Hugh Jackman blockbuster. Shawn Levy, who directed and co-produced the movie, will be involved in a Disney+ series inspired by the movie. Jackman is not involved at this early stage in the project’s development.

Real Steel was based on the 1956 short story Steel by Richard Matheson and was previously adapted into a Twilight Zone episode. The story centers on former boxer Charlie Kenton (Jackman) who tries to reconnect with his son Max (Dakota Goyo) as they train a robot to fight in the World Robot Boxing Championship. Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Olga Fonda, James Rebhorn and Hope Davis also starred.

Although the movie grossed just under $300 million, Disney did not feel the need to produce a sequel at the time. However, after the movie resurfaced on Netflix, Levy said there was an increased demand for one. In August 2021, he told ComicBook.com that Jackman was interested and Ryan Reynolds could join. Levy just directed Reynolds in Free Guy.

“Well, I’ll say this, Hugh and I definitely are feeling, we’ve never stopped feeling the love for Real Steel, and it’s almost like the volume has been increasing. Hugh and I were together literally last week talking about that,” Levy said. “So I would never say never on that, a sequel for Real Steal. Additionally, I’m friends with Hugh. I’m friends with Ryan. I will get them together. Whether it’s in Real Steel or another movie, I will direct those two amazing guys and dear friends in a movie together.”

While it’s entirely possible that a big-budget sequel with two huge movie stars could still happen, it looks like Disney would rather test out the property on television first. The series will be produced by Disney Branded Television, 20th Television with Levy’s 21 Laps, reports Deadline. The executive producers include Levy, Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke, Jacqueline Levine, Susan Montford and Don Murphy. The project is now searching for a writer.

Ironically, Real Steel is no longer available on Netflix. Instead, fans will have to turn to HBO Max to stream the movie. Real Steel is also available on Blu-ray and DVD.