“Casper” Series In Development For Disney+
Disney loves shows and films based on iconic franchises and the next project currently in development for Disney+ is based on “Casper the Friendly Ghost”.
Unfortunately, no plot details on the upcoming series have been revealed, but it has been described as a modern update on this classic story, that is expected to have a dark edge to it, similar to Netflix’s “Wednesday” show.
Since the show is still in the early stages of development, no cast details have been revealed, nor when production might begin or when it will be released on Disney+ around the world.
UCP, which is apart of Universal Studio Group is creating the show for Disney, who won the rights for the show in a competitive situation involving five other outlets.
According to Deadline, the new live-action series is being developed by Rob Letterman and Hilary Winston, who also worked on the Disney+ Original series, “Goosebumps”. They will be writing the show, with Rob also set to direct the show.
Also executive producing the show is Steven Spielberg, who was an executive producer on the 1995 film, “Casper”, which was released by Universal Studios.
The character originally debuted back in 1945 with some short animated films, which led to the character appearing in Harvey Comics, who acquired the character in 1952. Harvey Comics was acquired by Classic Media in 2001, which was then acquired in 2012 by Dreamworks Animation. That studio was then acquired by Universal Pictures in 2016, which is why Universal is co-creating the series with Dreamworks Animation TV.
This won’t be the first original series created by Universal for Disney’s streaming services, having previously worked on “Candy”, though it will be the first Disney+ Original series created by UCP.
As with any project in early development, this series might not necessarily get the go ahead and could still be years away from hitting our screens.
Roger’s Take: Disney+ is in desperate need for some live-action shows for kids and families, so “Casper” makes perfect sense. The fact that five other networks/streamers were competing for the rights to make the show, it likely means that the pitch was very good and should end up becoming a fantastic show.
Are you excited about a new “Casper” series? Let me know on social media!
