Honey, I Shrunk the Kids to reboot as Shrunk with Josh Gad

The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise was an essential introduction to sci-fi, Rick Moranis, and the benefits of bananas (potassium!) for a generation. Now, the Disney-produced film about a hapless scientist and the shrinking/growing members of his family is getting an update from its 1989 origins.

According to Slashfilm, a reboot called Shrunk is in the works from Disney that would set Josh Gad as the central star. Gad’s bumbled plenty in the past for the media giant (as snowmen and Beauty and the Beast schlubs), so his planned takeover of the Szalinski family (as the grown-up version of Moranis’ character’s son, Adam Szalinski) makes total sense. The reboot looks to pick up long after the third movie in the series, Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, which saw Adam played by Bug Hall.

Thirty years later, Adam repeats the mistakes of his father (naturally) and the plot of the first film is remade...even though the film isn’t technically a remake. The film is reportedly planned for theaters rather than for a Disney+ debut (as had initially been rumored), meaning another generation of kids could learn about the dangers of bugs, lawnmowers, and more through a franchise that — at one time — held a live-action Disney box office record.

No creative team seems to be attached at present, as Slashfilm reports Disney’s currently headhunting for someone with enough nostalgia for the franchise to give it the proper love it deserves.

Shrinking tech (or at least shrinking VFX) has come a long way since 1989 — in films like Downsizing and Ant-Man, to name a few — so the effectiveness of a reboot seems only to be tied to the strength of the filmmaker at its helm. Take the Jumanji sequel as an example of a classic franchise being revived in the right way. One can only hope Disney won’t have these poor kids shrinking down to the quantum realm this time around.

No word on when Shrunk will begin production.