Kunze & Bartlett to Write 'Free Willy' Reimagining
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- Warner Bros. Pictures hired screenwriting partners Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett to write the Free Willy reimagining being developed with the Russo brothers' AGBO
- AGBO is producing the project, with Angela Russo-Otstot, Michael Disco and Kassee Whiting producing, and Anthony Russo, Joe Russo and Lauren Shuler Donner serving as executive producers; Courtney Baker is co-producer
- The original Free Willy was released by Warner Bros. in 1993, launching a film franchise plus an animated television series and a direct-to-video continuation
- Jade Halley Bartlett made her directorial debut writing and directing Lionsgate's Miller's Girl (2024) starring Jenna Ortega, with Kunze producing through their joint Biscuit Belly Productions
- Mary-Margaret Kunze most recently served as a non-writing Co-Executive Producer on the Duffer Brothers' The Boroughs for Netflix, and previously was a creative executive at Marvel Television with credits on Daredevil, Cloak & Dagger and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Bartlett created the Netflix series Icebreaker, based on Hannah Grace's novel, and landed on the Black List in consecutive years with Miller's Girl (2016) and MAD (2017)
- Jesse Ehrman and Cate Adams are overseeing the reimagining for Warner Bros. Pictures
Why it matters: The hiring pairs AGBO — the Russos' production outfit behind major franchise work — with a creative team spanning prestige streaming (Netflix's Icebreaker, The Boroughs) and Blumhouse/ABC television. For Warner Bros., reviving a 1993 family franchise that spawned two sequels and an animated series hands legacy IP to a new generation of writer-producers with both studio and indie credentials.
