Development

On October 3, 2018, it was announced that Walt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action/computer-generated animation hybrid film remake of Disney's 2002 animated feature film Lilo & Stitch. The film was set to be adapted by Mike Van Waes, produced by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, and co-produced by Ryan Halprin.^[1][13] On October 24, 2018, Van Waes revealed that he began to work on the remake's script.^[14] On November 13, 2020, Jon M. Chu entered talks to direct the film, while Van Waes was reported to have left the project, with the studio looking for a new screenwriter to re-write Van Waes's script,^[15][16] though Chu would ultimately not direct the film due to other obligations. On July 14, 2022, Deadline Hollywood reported that Dean Fleischer Camp was chosen to direct instead, while Chris Kekaniokalani Bright was in talks to rewrite the script;^[17] Bright was fully confirmed to be the writer in February 2023.^[5] The day after Deadline Hollywood's announcement of Fleischer Camp and Bright's involvement, Van Waes quote tweeted from Deadline Hollywood's tweet on their article, welcoming Fleischer Camp and Bright to the film's production, possibly indicating that he is still involved with the film.^[18]

The film was given the working title Bad Dog, a reference to the ever-misbehaving Stitch being mistaken for and adopted as a dog, while the new production company established for the film was named "Blue Koala Pictures, Inc." in reference to a typical description of the character's physical appearance.^[19]

Casting

While it was speculated that the original film's co-writer/co-director, Chris Sanders, would reprise his role as the voice of Stitch in the remake, Sanders claimed in a September 2022 interview that Disney had not yet approached him on reprising the role, although he stated that he is always open to returning to voice his creation.^[20]

It was reported in November 2022 that a casting call has been issued for the film.^[2] The initial casting call was later tweeted on November 22 by the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment.^[3]

In February 2023, Zach Galifianakis joined the cast in a then-unspecified role. While TheWrap reported at the time that he would voice Pleakley,^[5] The Hollywood Reporter contradicted them in April when they reported that Galifianakis was instead voicing Dr. Jumba Jookiba.^[10] In late March, Maia Kealoha was cast in the lead role as Lilo Pelekai.^[4]

In April 2023, Billy Magnussen was cast as the voice of Agent Pleakley,^[10] and Sydney Agudong was cast as Nani Pelekai.^[7] Later that month, Kahiau Machado was cast as David Kawena,^[8] while Courtney B. Vance was cast as Cobra Bubbles, who fans initially believed was cut from the film's cast of characters.^[11] Tia Carrere and Amy Hill, who both voiced roles in the original film and its original sequel material such as Lilo & Stitch: The Series, were cast in new roles, with Sanders in final negotiations to reprise his voice role as Stitch.^[10]

The castings of Agudong and Machado were met with controversy on social media shortly after their announcements, with accusations of colorism and whitewashing towards Disney and the film's casting crew, as the two actors are of lighter skin tones than their characters' original animated counterparts.^[21][22] Sydney Agudong—the older sister of actress Siena Agudong—is a mixed-race woman born and raised on Kaua'i (where the franchise is mainly set) to a Caucasian mother and a father who is Filipino.^[21][23][22] Agudong received comments on her Instagram account attacking her for accepting the role.^[24] After Internet users discovered that Machado previously used a racial slur on his Spotify and Instagram accounts, Disney quietly recast him with Kaipo Dudoit.^[10][9][25] Machado later posted an apology for his prior use of the slur via Instagram on April 27, 2023.^[25]

In June 2023, Jason Scott Lee, who voiced David Kawena in the original film and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005), revealed on the podcast Kyle Meredith With... that he will have a cameo in the film as the manager of the luau where Nani and David work at.^[12][26]

Filming

Principal photography was slated to start in Oahu, Hawaii, on March 13, 2023,^[27] and finish on June 16.^[28] However, the first day of filming was later delayed to April 17.^[29]

On April 16, 2023, a fire broke out in a trailer within the base camp of the film's set in Haleiwa, causing approximately $200,000 in damage.^[29][30][31] The trailer contained costumes that would have been used for the first three weeks of filming.^[32] The fire started before 11 PM HST and was extinguished by 1 AM the following day.^[29][30][31] There were no reported injuries, although the beginning of filming was delayed indefinitely. The Honolulu Police Department classified it as a first-degree arson and opened an investigation in response.^{[29][30][31][32]}

Filming eventually began by May 1, 2023, when a portion of the Kalanianaole Highway was closed for the film's production.^[33] Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.^[34]

Visual effects and design

The visual effects are provided by Industrial Light & Magic.^[35]