Since Walt Disney Pictures Animation first debuted “Big Hero 6” in 2014, the movie’s intrepid inventor Hiro, his adorable robot companion Baymax, and their team of STEM-enhanced superheroes have been regular fixtures within the larger Disney pop-culture ecosystem.
Despite recent reports, however, Hiro, Baymax and the rest of the “Big Hero 6” crew are not currently set to make their live-action debut within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Variety has confirmed with a source at the studio.
It’s understandable why there would be so much anticipation for “Big Hero 6” to join the MCU. After Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment in 2009, the Disney Animation Studios team hit upon the rather obscure Marvel comics series “Big Hero 6” — which first appeared in 1998 — as a title ripe for adaptation. Disney, however, made several major changes. Rather that setting in Japan like in the comics, for example, the animated feature was set instead in the fictional city of San Fransokyo. And while the comics also followed Hiro and Baymax leading a team of superheroes, Disney changed Baymax from a synthetic bodyguard capable of transforming itself into a green dragon into a cuddly inflatable medical robot retrofitted by Hiro for combat. So there is a fair amount of daylight between Disney’s “Big Hero 6” and where Marvel Studios could take those characters in live action.
Related Stories
VIP+Packed Holiday Box Office Speaks to Misguided Scheduling Strategies
Snoop Dogg Says Upcoming Tom Petty Duet Is a 'Weed Song,' Describes Eminem and 50 Cent Collab as a 'Real Street Record'
Disney also just concluded “Big Hero 6: The Series,” an animated spin-off show with much of the original voice cast from the feature. The final episode aired on Feb. 15 after running for three seasons on the Disney Channel and Disney XD. That might imply the “Big Hero 6” characters are shifting back to Marvel, but in Dec., Disney announced that Walt Disney Animation Studios was producing the TV series “Baymax!” for Disney Plus — suggesting Disney still sees value in further exploiting the animated feature. A different version of the same characters introduced by Marvel would inject the kind of consumer brand confusion that Disney has scrupulously avoided within its various divisions.
Popular on Variety
There is always the possibility that Marvel Studios could turn to “Big Hero 6” in the future; “Guardians of the Galaxy” was also an obscure Marvel comics title until it found its way to the MCU. For now, though, instead of hanging out with Captain Marvel and Thor, Hiro and Baymax will keep rubbing shoulders with Moana and Wreck-It Ralph.
Read More About:
Jump to CommentsMore from Variety
‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Identity of Dust Bunny: Here Is the Celebrity Under the Costume
One Year Later, ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ Legitimizes Microsoft-Activision Deal
‘The Masked Singer’ Reveals Identity of Bluebell: Here Is the Celebrity Under the Costume
‘The Masked Singer’ Guests Nikki Glaser and Joel McHale Open This Week’s ‘Sports Night’ Episode (EXCLUSIVE)
Apple Deal Is Just a Piece of Amazon’s Streaming Marketplace Strategy
‘The Masked Singer U.K.’ Renewed for Two More Seasons, Adds Digital Companion Show – Global Bulletin
Most Popular
Anna Kendrick Was Terrified to Act With George Clooney on ‘Up in the Air’ Until He Told Her on Set: ‘I Get Insecure. Did They Even Hire the Right…
Grammy Nominations 2025: Beyonce Leads With 11 Nods as Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX Are Among Top Nominees
Ray Romano’s Identical Twin Sons Confront Their Quarter-Life Crisis, Codependency and Growing Up With a Famous Dad in Their New Documentary
Ridley Scott Says Joaquin Phoenix Got Cold Feet on ‘Gladiator’ and Said ‘I Can’t Do It’; Then Russell Crowe Called It ‘Terribly Unprofessional…
Tony Todd, ‘Candyman’ and ‘Final Destination’ Star, Dies at 69
Jimmy Kimmel Responds to Elon Musk Calling Him a ‘Propaganda Puppet’: ‘Listen Kermit, You Bought Twitter’
16-Year-Old Josh Brolin Tried to Make His ‘Goonies’ Character Super Deep; Then Steven Spielberg Told Him: ‘Just Act. Just Say What’s on the Page…
Denis Villeneuve Says ‘I Don’t Care’ If Quentin Tarantino Refuses to Watch ‘Dune,’ but ‘What I Did Was Not a Remake … I See This as an Original…
‘Joker 2’ Actor Says It’s ‘the Worst Film Ever Made’ and People on Set Said ‘This Is Going to Bomb’: ‘It’s Not Even Hate-Watchable. That’s How…
Nicholas Hoult Heard on the Radio That Robert Pattinson Was Batman and ‘I Was Auditioning Next Weekend’; Losing Role Was an ‘Emotional Blow…
Must Read
- Film
COVER | ‘Is the Sperm Still in There?’: Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey on Making ‘Queer’
By Andrew Wallenstein 5 days
- Film
The 100 Best Horror Movies of All Time
- Biz
Hollywood's New Leaders of 2024
- Music
15 Best Samples of Quincy Jones' Music, From Kanye West to the Weeknd to Harry Styles
- TV
Marvel's 2025 TV Slate Revealed, Including First Looks at ‘Wonder Man,’ Animated 'Spider-Man' and 'Wakanda' Shows
Sign Up for Variety Newsletters
By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Variety Confidential
ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXN9jp%2BgpaVfo7K4v46boKBlmJq%2FsHmVZpqhmaKWsLWx0axkppulYruwwIyhmKmolaO2r7OMamlsbGlmgHOBlWg%3D