Disney+ Cancels Plans For Gender-Swapped “Holes” Remake
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Disney had ordered a pilot for a new series for Disney+, which was going to be a reimagining of Louis Sachar’s 1998 novel, “Holes”, that was the inspiration for the 2003 movie of the same name.
However, the pilot was going to be a little different to the original film, as the creators were going to flip the main character to a female and tell the story of a teenage girl who is sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden forces the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose.
However, according to Deadline, Disney is no longer proceeding with its plans to create a new series for Disney+. Apparently, the bar was set high, and the project didn’t reach that standard, so they decided to pull the plug on the pilot, which was being created by 20th Television. No other details on why the show was cancelled have been confirmed.
Disney had already been in early development for the show, with Shay Rudolph, who previously starred in “The Baby-Sitters Club”, set to play the lead role, along with Greg Kinnear and Aidy Bryant, also linked to the project. Other actors involved in the pilot were Flor Delis Alicea, Anire Kim Amoda, Noah Cottrell, Iesha Daniels, Sophie Dieterlen, Alexandra Doke and Maeve Press.
The pilot was written by Alina Mankin, with Liz Phang working on the project as the showrunner. They were both executive producers, along with Drew Goddard and Sarah Esberg of Goddard Textiles, plus the movie’s producer, Mike Medavoy.
Back in the summer, Disney commissioned a writers’ room for the project and even was able to get a tax credit for the making of the show. Though, Disney will now be able to shift that tax credit to another project.
Roger’s Take: Ultimately, studios make pilots to test whether these projects are good enough to warrant proceeding as a series and to allow creative or casting changes if executives don’t think something is working. Pilots are there to test a concept, and there will no doubt be many more pilots created by Disney’s studios that don’t get the go-ahead.
However, once the news of this remake came to light, it was quickly pulled apart online over its main character getting gender-swapped, which has worked on some shows and films in the past, but in the current climate, many audiences are rejecting them. No doubt, Disney was aware that had they moved along with this project, they would get more criticism for another gender-swapped remake. They are actively trying to avoid annoying audiences on the right side of politics, even more so right now. Personally, I’d much rather Disney invest in developing new, unique pilots and taking the time to get great projects moving forward, than keep going back to what’s worked in the past.
Do you think Disney was right to halt “Holes”? Let me know on social media!
