Lilo & Stitch Director Reveals Why Fan-Favorite Character Was Cut From Live-Action Movie

By Pune Media On May 24, 2025

Lilo & Stitch director Dean Fleischer Camp has finally addressed the absence of one of the animated movie’s fan-favorite characters in the live-action adaptation. The acclaimed filmmaker is best known for his work on the 2021 animated film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

During a recent interview with Cinema Blend, Fleischer Camp explained the creative team’s controversial decision to remove beloved villain Captain Gantu from the live-action Lilo & Stitch. He admitted that they did try to include the said character. However, they just weren’t able to find a way to translate Gantu into live-action, while keeping the story emotional and grounded. “Gantu was one of those things that just didn’t work so well in live-action. We explored it a bit, but ultimately we had to make the decision,” he said.

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Fleischer Camp continued, “And also I do stand by the decision ’cause I feel like a lot of the things that in trying to ground these characters more and tell a story with a little more emotional depth, especially between the sisters, I feel like you have to free up real estate to allow that breathing room to do those things.” In the original 2002 movie, Gantu was introduced as the main villain, who was tasked by the Galactic Federation to retrieve experiment 626. The character was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson in the original animated franchise.

The Lilo & Stitch live action remake is directed by Fleisher Camp from a screenplay written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes. The ensemble cast is led by Chris Sanders as the voice of Stitch, Maia Kealoha as Lilo Pelekai, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong as Nani Pelekai, Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles, Billy Magnussen as Agent Wendell Pleakley, Zach Galifianakis as Dr. Jumba Jookiba, Tia Carrere as Mrs. Kekoa, Jason Scott Lee as a manager, and Amy Hill as Tūtū, with Ted Lasso vet Hannah Waddingham voicing the character of the Grand Councilwoman. Interestingly, Sanders, Lee, and Carrere were also originally part of the cast of the 2002 movie, with Lee and Carrere playing the respective characters of Nani and David.

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New Lilo & Stitch Movie Gets High Audience Score

Even though the latest adaptation initially received positive reviews, the movie now holds a Tomatometer score of 69%, which is 17% lower than the original’s Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite not being able to impress some of the critics, the remake is clearly a hit with the audience, as it now currently holds an Audience score of 93%. While others were disappointed with some of the film’s deviations from the original, most reviews actually praised Kealoha’s acting debut performance.

Lilo & Stitch is now playing in theaters.

Source: Cinema Blend

Lilo & Stitch

Release Date: May 21, 2025
Runtime: 108 Minutes
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Writers: Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, Mike Van Waes, Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
Producers: Tom C. Peitzman, Dan Lin, Ryan Halprin

Chris Sanders

Stitch (voice)
Billy Magnussen

Pleakley (voice)

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