Jack Nicholson was originally in line for Disneys Hercules but 1989s Batman movie put an end to it… Ive long been one of those calling nonsense on this.
Id argue theres a mix of underappreciated and flat-out excellent movies in that lot.
And we also hadHercules.
Still, Disneys stock price dropped nearly 10% in the aftermath of the movies box office opening.
And yetHerculesis a film whose name seems to come up over and over.
The pair have just finished work on the terrificMoanatoo, incidentally.
He came in to record the lines of said narrator.
He wasnt happy with the grammar of what he had to say.
I dont think Chuck was familiar with the colloquialism we were playing with, Musker noted.
That was minor, though, in the scheme of things.
The directors admit their reluctance to cast people without hearing them speak the lines of the character concerned.
In hindsight, the directors learned that shed reportedly declared bankruptcy that week, amongst one or two issues.
In terms ofHercules, she simply wasnt working out though, something that was evident very quickly.
It became clear that the role needed to be recast, and was.
Roz Ryan came in and read for it, and would take the part on.
But in DeVitos case, the role was written for him.
Yet the role wasnt originally his.
In fact, the part of Hades was originally set for Jack Nicholson.
Katzenberg had snared Robin Williams forAladdin, and now Eisner had his eye on Jack Nicholson forHercules.
Nicholson was certainly interested.
He went along to Disneys development building in Glendale, and brought along two of his young children.
Im a fair guy, but this fin heat is driving me absolutely crazy…, Musker recalled.
That animation has stayed under lock and key in the Disney vault, sadly.
Oh for it to appear on YouTube.
Nicholson was impressed, though.
Yet as it turned out, hisHerculesappearance was scuppered by 1989sBatman.
The casting fell through when a package couldnt be agreed upon.
The casting was back to square one.
He mooted the suggestion of Evans to Michael Eisner.
Michaels eyes lit up, Musker said.
He would be great!!
He is the devil!
Evans did have some acting pedigree, albeit not much, but did show interest in joiningHercules.
Yet when he came in to read for the part, Evans stumbled.
The search continued for a while longer, with the likes of John Lithgow also considered.
But in the end, it was James Woods who would land the part, and complete theHerculesensemble.
The rave reviews for his work suggest that Musker and Clements made the right call for their film there.
John Musker goes into a great deal more depth about the casting ofHerculeshere, and its a fascinating read.
There was no Charlton Heston moment, either…
