Warner Bros. and the Russo brothers' AGBO are developing a reimagining of the 1993 adventure film Free Willy. Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett are writing the screenplay, with AGBO's Angela Russo-Otstot, Michael Disco, and Kassee Whiting producing.
The original Free Willy became a beloved '90s franchise that spanned multiple theatrical and home video releases, capturing audiences with its story of a troubled preteen freeing a captive orca. AGBO's involvement signals a high-profile studio push to reintroduce the property to contemporary audiences, with a writing team that blends Marvel Television experience (Kunze worked on Agents of SHIELD and Daredevil) and Black List-recognized screenwriting (Bartlett's Miller's Girl script).
The original 1993 Free Willy featured Keiko, an orca who was actually in captivity at the time of filming and later became the subject of a real-life rehabilitation effort to return him to the wild after the film's success raised awareness about captive marine mammals.



















