Stitch returns! Disney unveiled the first look at its live-action “Lilo & Stitch,” in which the adorable blue extraterrestrial creature terrorizes an impressively constructed sandcastle.
The 30-second clip offers a glimpse at the Hawaiian coastline — and nothing else about the film. According to the official logline, “Lilo & Stitch” chronicles “the bond formed between a lonely human girl named Lilo and a dog-like alien named Stitch, who is engineered to be a force of destruction.”
Dean Fleischer Camp, the filmmaker behind A24’s charming indie comedy “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” is directing “Lilo & Stitch.” Sanders, who co-directed the original 2002 film, is reprising his voice role of Stitch, while Maia Kealoha (as Lilo), Zach Galifianakis, Sydney Agudong, Billy Magnussen and Courtney B. Vance are joining the cast.
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“Lilo & Stitch” will be released 23 years after the first film, which grossed $273 million at the global box office. The story follows 6-year-old Lilo and her teenage sister Nani, who live in Hawaii and adopt a genetically engineered “dog” known as Experiment 626 a.k.a. Stitch. The movie featured the catchy Disney song “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” and introduced audiences to the concept of ohana, which means family — and as Stitch instills in everyone: Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.
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“Lilo & Stitch” has inspired multiple spinoffs, including the direct-to-video sequels “Stitch: The Movie,” “Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch” and “Leroy and Stitch.” A TV show called “Lilo & Stitch: The Series” ran on Disney Channel and ABC Kids from 2003 to 2006.
Disney has given numerous animated films the live-action treatment — including “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” “Mulan,” “Dumbo” and “The Little Mermaid” — to varying degrees of success. “Lilo & Stitch” crashes into theaters on May 23, 2025.
Watch the teaser below:
