The live-action adaptation of Disney’s Hercules is in the works, with Guy Ritchie recently confirmed as the film’s director (via ScreenRant). It’s unclear whether Disney plans to make this adaptation faithful to the original, like Cinderella, or more consistent with the original tale, like Mulan, but either way, it’s sure to be a fan favorite.
If the live-action version remains close to the original, it will be important to focus on what made the characters so captivating, to begin with. While minor characters remained fairly consistent throughout the film, every main character had a dynamic character arc. These changes can be seen best by looking at the characters’ first and last lines, to see how much they changed throughout the film.
Pain
First: “Coming, Your Most Lugubriousness.”
Last: “You Mean, If He Gets Outta There.”
Pain didn’t get much of a character arc, but he is distinguished from his counterpart through his innovative approaches to situations. He is the cleverer of the two, using words like “Lugubrious” to describe Hades, a word that means exaggeratedly gloomy. While this is played for laughs, it is a word that most adults wouldn’t even know the meaning of.
This cleverness continues throughout the story, particularly through his final line. While Panic worries about the punishment coming their way when Hades escapes the River Styx, Pain focuses on the uncertainty. There’s no knowing if Hades will ever escape, and there’s no reason to worry over something that may not even happen.
Panic
First: “I’m Sorry! I Can Handle It!”
Last: “If. If Is Good.”
Panic’s personality perfectly matches his name, with the character consistently running around trying to avoid punishment. When he is first introduced, he tries to help Pain and make a good impression on Hades.
His basic instinct of avoiding punishment continues throughout the movie and fits in with Pain’s scheming belief that the future cannot hurt them. Panic appreciates Pain’s perspective because he knows that with Hades’s return comes punishment. The “If” suggests that that punishment can be avoided, or at least put-off, which he will always try to achieve.
Amphitryon
First: “Who’s There? Alcmene, Over Here.”
Last: “Hercules, There’s Something Your Mother And I Have Been Meaning To Tell You.”
Audiences don’t get much information about Amphitryon, besides the fact that his relationship with Hercules is very similar to Jonathan Kent’s relationship with Superman. When he is first introduced, Amphitryon discovers Hercules and immediately calls for his wife to come help.
Unfortunately, Hercules’s parents don’t have much of a role beyond raising Hercules. Amphitryon’s last line is setting up the reveal that Hercules was Zeus’s child, which structurally relieves him of his role as Hercules’s father. In his first line, he claims Hercules, and in his last line, he gives him away.
Hera
First: “Hercules! Behave Yourself.”
Last: “You Were Willing To Give Your Life To Rescue This Young Woman.”
The biggest deviation from mythology in Hercules is Hera’s relationship with him. In this film, she is his mother, and her first line includes the gentle chiding a mother would give a mischievous child. Her last line honors Hercules’s heroic deeds, praising him for his selfless love for Megara.
Both lines present Hera as a proud, loving mother who wants to help her son become the best man he can be. She is teaching him lessons, first in etiquette and behavior and then about what it means to be a true hero.
Zeus
First: “Look At This. Look How Cute He Is. Oh, He’s Strong! Like His Dad, Hmm?”
Last: “For A True Hero Isn’t Measured By The Size Of His Strength, But By The Strength Of His Heart. Now, At Last, My Son, You Can Come Home.”
Although Zeus mostly existed as someone Hercules was fighting to get back to, he did change from the beginning of the movie to the end. In the beginning, he praised Hercules’s physical strength and honored him for being his son. By the end, he respects Hercules for his actions, emphasizing the importance of emotional strength.
While in some ways this may seem like a regression, since it forced Hercules to jump through hoops to get the love of his parents, it showed Zeus learning to see Hercules as his person. While his first line praises Hercules for his similarities to his father, the final line indicates that he sees Hercules as a true hero in his own right.
The Muses
First: “Will You Listen To Him? He’s Makin’ The Story Sound Like Some Greek Tragedy.”
Last: “Just Keep Your Eyes Upon The Skies Every Night, A Star Is Right In Sight, A Star Is Burning Bright, A Star Is Born!”
The Muses are some of the most likable characters in Hercules, in large part because they control the narrative. In her first line, Thalia kicks the narrator out, rejecting the idea that their story is a Greek tragedy (although, of course, it is). This openly acknowledges how much the movie deviates from the original myth.
By the end, the Muses have fully changed the genre. The emphasis on stars refers back to Disney’s signature song, “When You Wish Upon A Star,” and the lyrics tell the story’s moral. Instead of being a bloody story about murder and guilt, this is a story about an outsider who got everything he ever wanted.
Hades
First: “How Sentimental. You Know, I Haven’t Been This Choked Up Since I Got A Hunk Of Mousaka Stuck In My Throat.”
Last: “Hello, It’s Me. Nobody Listens.”
Hades is vastly misrepresented in Hercules, playing the bad guy who shows his disdain through sarcasm. In the first scene, he is full of scorn as he attends the party in Hercules’s honor, drawing as much attention as he can to himself and away from Zeus and Hercules.
In his final line, Hades is still desperate for attention and full of sarcasm, but nobody cares anymore. Not only did his plan fail, but he’s worse off than he started. Because he was unwilling to accept his circumstances or find a healthy way to manage them, he lost what little significance he had.
Philoctetes
First: “Whoa, Hey, Butt Out, Buddy!”
Last: “Whoa! Hey, Hey, Hey! Whoo!”
Despite Phil being referred to as “the trainer of heroes,” Hercules’s fate looks bleak when audiences first meet the man. His first line is defensive, trying to get Hercules to leave him alone. Phil just wants to ogle nymphs.
However, his last lines show progress, as he has officially become part of Team Herc. First, he cheers Hercules for saving Megara, happier still when they are taken up on a cloud to Olympus. Then Pegasus carries him up to watch. Phil gets the chance to see all his hard work pay off, and his final words celebrate the relationships he formed along the way.
Megara
First: “I Swear, Nessus. Put Me Down, Or I’ll…”
Last: “Congratulations, Wonderboy. You’ll Make One Heck Of A God.”
When audiences first meet her, Megara is not the standard Disney princess. After losing her freedom because of love, she’s fiercely independent, refusing any outside help. So, while she is in a genuinely difficult situation with Nessus, she refuses to back down.
However, her last line shows how far she’s come, as she actively forces herself to let go of control. She doesn’t ask Hercules to stay, and she doesn’t close herself off from her emotions. Instead, she genuinely wishes him the best and lets him go. Thankfully, he loves her in return and shows her that love doesn’t always end in loss.
Hercules
First: “Sorry, Guys!”
Last: “I Wish To Stay On Earth With Her. I Finally Know Where I Belong.”
Hercules is first introduced as an outcast in his village because his differences have kept him from having close friends. He’s also not in control of his strength, which gets him into trouble. His first line is an apology, and Hercules seems to approach his life apologizing for his existence.
Thankfully, he was soon able to get better control of his abilities, training to become a great hero. All he ever wanted was family and acceptance, and that’s precisely what is offered to him. Yet, his final words reject a place on Olympus, instead embracing a future with Meg. Not only has he found what he needs in life, but he’s also developed the confidence to fight for it, no apologies needed.
