Andrew Gunn, the Canadian film producer behind a string of successful Disney comedies including Freaky Friday and Sky High, died on March 2, 2026, at his home in Toronto. He was 58 years old.
Gunn’s death, announced by his family on Monday, comes after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), similarly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2024, according to reporting from The Hollywood Reporter.
A key figure during a prolific period for Disney’s live-action film division, Gunn began his career in the late 1990s and rose to prominence with an exclusive first-look deal at the studio under then-chairman Dick Cook and motion pictures president Nina Jacobson. He oversaw a string of commercially successful films, often remakes or adaptations of popular Disney properties.
The 2003 remake of Freaky Friday, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, stands as a particular success story. Jacobson, recalling the project, noted Gunn’s willingness to trust creative instincts. “On Freaky Friday, we were able to craft a decision on a creative instinct and not by asking an algorithm on who to cast,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. The film’s casting process was initially complicated by scheduling conflicts; Annette Bening, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Tom Selleck were initially attached, but Trachtenberg’s commitment to Buffy the Vampire Slayer led to a search that ultimately landed Curtis and Lohan in the lead roles.
Gunn’s filmography also includes The Country Bears (2002), The Haunted Mansion (2003), Sky High (2005), College Road Trip (2008), Bedtime Stories (2008), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Bad Santa 2 (2016), Cruella (2021), and Freakier Friday (2025), a sequel to his earlier hit. He also produced Unhinged (2020).
Beyond producing, Gunn was committed to fostering new talent. In 2001, he launched the Disney Writers Program, which mentored emerging screenwriters, including David Berenbaum (Elf, The Haunted Mansion), Matt Lopez (2022’s Father of the Bride), and David DiGilio, co-creator of The Terminal List.
Gunn’s career began in Toronto, where he graduated from the University of Western Ontario before earning a Master’s degree in Communication Management from the Annenberg School at USC. He worked for producers David Permut and John Hughes, at Great Oaks Entertainment, where he contributed to films like 101 Dalmatians and Flubber, before establishing Gunn Films in 2001.
Hughes, Gunn recalled, instilled in him the importance of grounding comedy in believable characters. “John Hughes told me that if you have earned it with comedy and real believable characters, it takes very little…to surprise the audience with tears they did not expect,” Gunn wrote, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Former Disney executive Kristin Burr and Ann Marie Sanderlin, a partner at Gunn Films, were also key collaborators during his time at the studio. Gunn also found professional fulfillment in working with his children, Isabelle and Connor Gunn, on Freakier Friday, with his daughter joining the camera department and his son working in props.
Andrew Gunn is survived by his wife, Jane Bellamy Gunn, his mother, Anne Gunn, and siblings Hilary Knight, Graeme Gunn, and Cameron Gunn. His father, Charles Gunn, predeceased him.
