Disney's Hexed is coming to cinemas in two months, and a lot of people still don't want to give the coming-of-age fantasy animated movie a break. We've seen allegations of Disney same-face syndrome, the slightly ridiculous Hexed vertical orientation conspiracy theory and then suggestions that Hexed's witches were inspired by The Owl House.
Now things have come full circle back to the controversy that started it all: the decision to change the film's original concept. When Disney announced Hexed only a year ago, we were told movie would revolve around the relationship between an "awkward teenage boy" and his "type A mom". But by the time the first character designs emerged in April, the boy had become a girl: teen outsider Billie Doe to be played Hailee Steinfeld.
A new display of concept art has led some to suggest that Disney's now trying to glaze over that change of plan for the movie.
Least I was able 2 ask the #Hexed crew at #D23 why they changed the story from mother/son to mother/daughter, and they said, which I honestly felt make sense cuz they didn’t fire Josie Trinidad from the film, that the change was an internal WDAS decision, not from corporate execs pic.twitter.com/zJBfj4YYgJSeptember 21, 2026
Posting on X, one fan suggests that Disney has gone so far as to create "an alternative original concept art" that removes the figure of Hexed's original boy lead as he appeared in the artwork revealed a year ago.
"We may never know the real reasons for the change, but Disney is definitely trying to avoid the conversation around it and that’s more interesting right now," they write.
Disney hasn't said why it changed the sex of Hexed's hero. Fans suspect the decision may have been influenced by the disappointing performance of Elio at the box office last year, or because of concerns that Hexed would be compared to Harry Potter since it was slated for release just as HBO prepares for its Harry Potter series.
One fan who asked about the change at D23 was told it was an internal Walt Disney Animation Studio decision, not something that came from higher up.
It will be interesting to see if more concept art of Hexed's original boy protagonist emerges in the movie's art book, which isn't coming out until 28 December.
The suggestion that there's a conspiracy to deny or hide Hexed's original concept sounds a bit far fetched to me. Multiple ideas are often tested during the concept art stage, so it's perfectly feasible that the 'alternative concept art' was made at around the same time as the image that Disney chose to make public.
It's no secret that sometimes Disney characters change dramatically during the pre-production process. The studio has openly shared concepts and storyboard artwork illustrating examples in the past.
Then again, perhaps Disney wants to avoid another Asha & The Starboy – the upcoming fan-made 2D animated short that revives the abandoned original concept for Wish. Could the studio be concerned that fans might take matters into their own hands again if they get hooked on the idea that Billie was supposed to be a boy?
Hexed will be released on 25 November.
