Pixar had a live-action film titled 1906 in the works before the studio opted to put it on hold. Michael Hirst, who was roped in to pen the screenplay of the movie, has now revealed the reason behind its supposed cancelation. In a recent interview, the veteran screenwriter shed light on why Pixar chose to scrap the project, while also opening up about his decision to walk away from the film.

Michael Hirst says Pixar’s live-action film was abandoned as it focused on ‘ordinary people’

During a recent discussion with MovieWeb, Michael Hirst noted that Pixar’s live-action film on James Dalessandro’s 1906 novel was abandoned as the studio wanted to convey a story with “heroes” rather than ‘”ordinary people.”

Originally planned to be helmed by Brad Bird, the Pixar movie would have depicted the disastrous events of the 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco. Explaining what went down during the initial production phase of Pixar’s first live-action feature, Hirst noted, “Do you know why San Francisco was saved in the sense that it wasn’t totally burned out? It was saved by ordinary people going out of their houses, [and] finding some water.”

He continued, “It wasn’t the authorities that put out the flames; it was ordinary people. They bulldozed some of the houses…They lived and died doing that, and they stopped the fire. I wrote about that, and I was pleased, and I thought, ‘My God, Americans are going to be really interested.’ [But] the studios had no interest in that at all, because it wasn’t heroes [who] saved the day, it was ordinary people.”

However, sensing that the studio would not budge from its stance, Hirst decided to resign from the project. “I said, ‘But you’re an American, you’re supposed to like ordinary people.’ ‘No, no, no, we want heroes. Michael, it’s heroes who saved the city.’ So… I walked away,” the Vikings creator added.

Since then, Pixar has not shared any positive update regarding the status of its first live-action film.