It’s important to remember that Disney has a lot more going on than just Star Wars, Marvel, animation, and fairy tale remakes. Their reach is vast, and that is evidenced once again in this weekend’s news they’re developing a live-action movie based on another piece of childhood nostalgia, Inspector Gadget.
THR reports that SNL writers Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell are co-writing an Inspector Gadget movie, centering on the titular cyborg detective who bumbles through an investigation of Dr. Claw and his evil organization, MAD. Gadget is joined by his brilliant niece Penny and her dog Brain who are really the ones responsible for solving the crimes.
Inspector Gadget was a 1980s cartoon series that launched a number of spinoffs, and a modestly successful 1999 live-action movie starring Matthew Broderick. A direct-to-video sequel was released in 2003 with a completely different cast.
This could be a lot of fun and surprisingly timely. Put a little more emphasis on Penny and Brain, showing her resolve and ability compared to her clueless uncle, and you’ve got the makings of a hit movie with a valuable message. Right now the film has yet to get a director, so it’s still some ways off. Day and Seidell are also working on Disney’s Home Alone reboot for Disney+, and while it’s not made clear we can probably guess Inspector Gadget will hit the streamer, as well.
