In 2019, news broke that Walt Disney Pictures would be developing “Shrunk,” a “legacy sequel” to the classic 1989 family comedy “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.”
In the Joe Johnston-directed original, Rick Moranis played a scientist dad named Wayne Szalinski who accidentally shrinks his teenage son and daughter (alongside some neighborhood kids) to just a quarter inch in size.
They must then venture into their garden to return home while fending off insects and other tall obstacles. The new project was set to take place in the same universe as the original films, albeit three decades later.
Josh Gad had signed on to play the adult version of Wayne’s son Adam, who first appeared in the sequel “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid” in 1992. Originally developed for Disney+, the plan was to move on to a theatrical release.
Then in 2020, Rick Moranis was reportedly in talks to come out of acting retirement to reprise his role, while Joe Johnston is also said to be in negotiations to direct.
Three years later, nothing seems to have happened. Now, Gad has offered an update on the project via social media and says the project has essentially been scrapped:
“A lot of [you] ask me what’s going on with this movie. The truth is, we were inches away from the start, then COVID hit, inches away from restarting, then my schedule exploded with conflicts, inches away from restarting and budget got the better of us.
Gad adds that if fans still wanted it, they should let Disney know by reaching out. Three films were produced in the series as a whole, the third being “Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves”, which was released as a straight-to-DVD movie in 1997 with Moranis the only returning actor.
Many of you ask me what is going on with this film. The truth is, we were inches away from the start, then COVID hit, inches away from restarting, then my schedule exploded with conflicts, inches away from restarting and budget got the better of us. If you want it, leave your local @disney know. pic.twitter.com/H5l24DQyoU
—Josh Gad (@joshgad) June 26, 2023