Despite a rocky run for its recent live-action princess films, Disney is reportedly pressing ahead with a new Tiana project — and this one sounds a little different from what we've seen before.

According to Deadline, two-time Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo is in talks to co-write an original live-action movie inspired by Disney's The Princess and the Frog (2009). He is expected to work alongside playwright and director Robert O'Hara. That said, the project is still in its earliest stages, and deals have not yet been finalized.

A Spin-Off, Not a Scene-for-Scene Remake

This is an important distinction: unlike Beauty and the Beast (2017), The Little Mermaid (2023), or Moana (2026), this project is not being developed as a direct remake of the animated film. Instead, it's reportedly being shaped as a spin-off that expands Tiana's world — an approach that has been compared to Gaston, another live-action Disney work-in-progress centered on a character from Beauty and the Beast.

That means Disney won't be asking a new actress to recreate Anika Noni Rose's performance beat for beat. Instead, the studio can revisit Tiana and the magic of New Orleans while telling a fresh, original story. With Domingo's background as a playwright and producer, and O'Hara's experience as both a writer and director, their involvement suggests Disney may be aiming for something more distinctive than another faithful recreation.

A Quick Refresher on the Original Film

Released in 2009, The Princess and the Frog follows Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), a New Orleans waitress with dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing the cursed Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), she too is transformed into a frog, sending the pair on an adventure through the Louisiana bayou in search of a cure.

The film earned $267 million worldwide against a reported $105 million budget and received three Academy Award nominations. It was celebrated for its animation, its music, and for introducing Disney's first Black princess. Tiana's story also stood out for centering her ambition — her restaurant dream drove the plot long before romance entered the picture.

Reception wasn't entirely without criticism, however. Some viewers took issue with the fact that Disney's first Black princess spent much of her own film as a frog, while others questioned the film's portrayal of Louisiana Voodoo and its softened depiction of race in 1920s New Orleans. Even so, Tiana earned a devoted following that has only grown over the years.

Tiana's Journey Beyond the Animated Film

Disney has been expanding the Princess and the Frog universe in other ways, with mixed results. An animated Disney+ series was announced in 2020 and was expected to continue Tiana's story after the events of the movie — but those plans were scrapped in 2025 when Disney Animation pulled back from long-form streaming projects. A short-form special was announced as a replacement, though Disney has shared few public updates since.

The parks have moved considerably faster. Tiana's Palace opened at Disneyland in 2023, and Tiana's Bayou Adventure replaced Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 2024. The attraction continues Tiana's story rather than retelling it — she's now a successful restaurateur preparing to host a Mardi Gras celebration and searching the bayou for musicians. While the ride sparked some controversy among Disney fans, it remains a popular choice at both parks.

Coming Off a Rough Stretch for Live-Action Remakes

The timing of this new project is worth noting. Moana opened earlier this month with $43 million domestically and $95 million worldwide — a weak start for a production reported to have cost approximately $250 million. Critics pointed to the remake's close adherence to the 2016 animated film as a key problem, leaving audiences with little reason to see a story already available on Disney+.

That opening came just over a year after Snow White (2025), another expensive princess remake that struggled to justify its existence, finishing with approximately $206 million worldwide against a reported production budget of roughly $269 million.

Both films illustrate the difficult balance Disney has long been trying to strike: recreate an animated favorite too faithfully, and the new version can feel unnecessary; change too much, and audiences may feel the film has abandoned what they loved in the first place.

A spin-off approach could offer Tiana — and Disney — a third path. By retaining the character, setting, and New Orleans atmosphere of The Princess and the Frog without inviting constant comparisons to the original, the project could stand on its own terms. It would also give Tiana considerably more human screen time, which addresses one of the animated film's most persistent criticisms.

Still Early Days

It's worth keeping expectations measured for now. Domingo and O'Hara are only in talks, no cast has been announced, and Disney has not revealed a release date. The project is far from guaranteed.

Still, after the cancellation of the Tiana Disney+ series and the disappointing box office runs of Snow White and Moana, an original story built around a beloved character may be Disney's most promising route back into its princess catalog.

What do you think of Disney's new Tiana project? We'd love to hear your thoughts!