Jon Favreau is developing a new TV series about Oswald the Lucky Rabbit for Disney+. Before Mickey Mouse, Oswald was created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks and was introduced in 1927's Trolley Troubles. The character appeared in several animated shorts before Disney lost the rights to the character to Universal Pictures. After losing Oswald, Disney then went on to create his iconic cartoon mouse.
According to Deadline, the new series on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit will be an animation and live-action hybrid, similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Space Jam. Favreau will serve as both a writer and producer on the series. The writer/director has experience working in both live action (Iron Man and The Mandalorian) as well as animation with the 2019 CGI remake of The Lion King.
What Jon Favreau's New Series Means For Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Disney Is Going Back To Its Roots
Although Oswald the Lucky Rabbit isn't as well-known as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, the character is very important to Disney's history. Before Oswald, Disney's animation experience was the Alice Comedies series, which had a live-action girl named Alice interacting with animated characters. Disney losing the rights to Oswald also set him on a path that led to greater success with Mickey Mouse.
To help make Mickey stand out, Disney decided to add sound to the cartoons, starting with Steamboat Willie (the third short produced), which became an important element to the early cartoons. The success of Mickey Mouse led the company to expand to animated Disney features, and later theme parks.
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Ever since Disney regained the rights to use Oswald in 2006, the character has made a few appearances in different projects. One of them was the Epic Mickey video game series. The character also made an appearance in the short Once Upon a Studio, which celebrated Disney's 100th anniversary. Mickey even made a point in the short to show respect to Oswald, showing how important he is to Disney's history.
Our Take On Jon Favreau Working On An Oswald The Lucky Rabbit TV Show
Favreau Has Had Success Launching Disney Franchises Before
One of the reasons Favreau developing a new Oswald the Lucky Rabbit TV series is so exciting is because of how much success he has had launching other Disney franchises. The first Iron Man movie not only kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it also remains one of the franchise's most beloved movies. The Mandalorian also began a new era of Star Wars, with the franchise expanding to live action television.
Since the series will be about a cartoon character, the show's humor will be very important. Favreau's comedy films like Elf shows that he can bring humor to larger-than-life characters like Buddy the Elf, and also more grounded characters like Walter Hobbs and his family. Disney choosing Favreau shows that Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is in good hands.
Source: Deadline
