Disney Cancel’s FOX’s ‘Mouse Guard’ Animated Film

There is some sad news coming out of the Disney/ Fox Merger today. It has just been reported that The House Of Mouse is killing FOX’s adaptation of The Mouse Guard comic book just prior to production starting.

The film was set to begin production with Maze Runner director Wes Ball at the helm and Andy Serkis, Idris Elba, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Game of Thrones) set to lead the cast. The movie was going to use motion capture to bring the world created by David Petersen to life in his acclaimed graphic novel series. The only good news is that Disney is allowing producers Matt Reeves, Ross Ritchie, and Stephen Christy, to shop the project around to other studios.

If you are looking for a reason for the cancellation, you should probably follow the money. According to several sources, the movie was set at a $170 million budget. That’s a big movie for a license that has not been proven on a scale that warrants that amount of risk. That risk is then compounded when you realize that the movie would probably have to be PG-13 if it planned to stay loyal to the source material. That 13 at the top of the rating shaves millions off of family box office potential.