Talking The Disney Version Of ‘Hades’ With Elliott Kalan

Writer Elliott Kalan is part of the creative team responsible for the Disney/Dynamite Entertainment collaboration comic Disney Villians: Hades (2023-Present). His prior writing credits include Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Netflix era, 2017-2018) and Spider-Man and The X-Men (2014-2015). He is also a member of the Writer’s Guild of America, and currently a WGA Strike Captain.

Benjamin Hall: Is this series a bit of a dream project?

Elliott Kalan: I’ve always loved Greek mythology, ever since I was a wee child eagerly reading Edith Hamilton’s somewhat cleaned-up version of the stories. They’re maybe the greatest characters and stories to ever come out of the human imagination. So it was really exciting to get to write fun, Disneyfied versions of the figures I’ve thought about for years, like Arachne and Orpheus and the Minotaur. Hades has also been a favorite Disney villain of mine, because I’m a sucker for a sarcastic, fast-talking schemer who hangs around with demons and skeletons.

Hall: Does your version of Hades have more to do with the movie version or the television show version (Hercules (1997) and Hercules (1998-1999)? Asking cause the two kind of have different continuities.

Kalan: This is very much the Hades from the Hercules movie. Readers won’t have to have seen the movie to get the story, but that’s the continuity I’m working in. I’m sorry to say I’m not super-familiar with the TV version. I loved the movie when I saw it in the theaters, but I never followed the show. This also means readers will be seeing different versions of Medusa and Icarus than were on the show. But that’s the great thing about mythology! It can be told many times in many ways, with many differences!

Hall: Will Hades two minions have more or less focus in this series than they do in the movie?

Kalan: We have a little fun with Hades’s henchdemons, Pain & Panic, at the beginning and end of the series, but they quickly prove they’re not up to the task Hades puts them to (stealing the Golden Fleece), so he has to assemble a team of figures from Greek mythology to help him do the job. So those little devils will have less focus than in the movie, but we will get to see them burst into flames, get swallowed, and just generally tormented.

Hall: Will the Muses create segues in this series, or are you keeping away from that due to the different medium?

Kalan: In my mind the Muses are about narrating the inspiring and edifying stories of heroes. Hades, however, is not a hero, he’s a villain. So he doesn’t get the muses as his tellers. Instead, when we need narrating done (like at the beginning of issues, to catch up the readers), it’ll be done by a different character each time, starting with the Fates. Those crusty, angry old crones are more Hades’s kind of people.

Hall: Do you feel this is a chance to add something lasting to the lore that Hades has with Disney?

Kalan: I hope so! Working in the Hades universe creates such a rich opportunity to bring new life to Greek mythology — and also to flesh out Hades’s character a little more. I hope that by spending time with him, he becomes more than a villain to the audience. Not exactly a hero, in fact definitely not a hero, but more than just a bad guy without feelings of his own. We’ll see — I hope that readers enjoy the book and my take on the character, and that I get another chance to do more with him.

Hall: Are you referencing anything from Hades‘s mythological roots with this series?

Kalan: I play with Hades’s relationship to Charon, the boatman who rows souls across the River Styx to Hades, and Hades’s role in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. But I have to admit that I was trying to cram so many other mythological figures in there that I didn’t have the space to dig too deeply into Hades’s myths themselves. Maybe next time!

Hall: What, if anything, can you tease potential buyers with?

Kalan: I think the premise of the series is a fun one — essentially, Hades wants revenge for being snubbed by the Olympian gods, and to do that he needs the power of the Golden Fleece. So he assembles a team of other Greek myth figures to go on a heist with him — not realizing that the very bro-y Jason and the Argonauts are also out to get the Fleece at the same time. There are thrills, twists, betrayals, cliffhangers, fights, laughs, new friendships, transformations, songs, and a chase between a dragon and a flying ram. Is there anything more enticing than that?! I don’t think so!

Thanks to Elliott Kalan for his time and answers!

Hades #1 is due out this August from Dynamite Entertainment.