Disney+ Developing “Animorphs” Series
Disney has had lots of success with adaptations of popular young adult books, such as “Percy Jackson And The Olympians”, and according to Variety, 20th Television is developing a brand new series for Disney+ based on the popular “Animorphs” book series.
The series follows a group of teenagers who uncover a hidden threat lurking beneath their everyday lives, all while juggling relationships, curfews, and the chaos of High School.
The first book’s official description gives us a better insight into where the series will go, as the Earth is being invaded, but no one knows about it. When Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, and Marco stumble upon a downed alien spaceship and its dying pilot, they’re given an incredible power — they can transform into any animal they touch. With it, they become Animorphs, the unlikely champions in a secret war for the planet. And the enemies they’re fighting could be anyone . . . even the people closest to them.
“Animorphs” was created by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. Since the first book was released in 1996, there have been 54 books released in the series, selling over 35 million copies worldwide.
The show will be created by Ryan Coogler, who is behind hit films like “Black Panther” and the Disney+ shows “Eyes Of Wakanda” and “Ironheart”. He will be executive producing the project along with Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian from Ryan’s Proximity Media company.
Bayan Wolcott will also be an executive producer and will be writing the show. Also executive producing will be Iole Lucchese and Caitlin Friedman from the book’s publishing company, Scholastic. Proximity Media’s Simone Harris, vice president and head of TV, and Dezi Gallegos, director of development of TV, will also oversee the project.
This isn’t the first time the “Animorphs” book series has been adapted for television, as Nickelodeon created a show back in 1998 that ran for two seasons, and there were also attempts to create a film, but that never happened.
No other details, such as who will star in it, or when it might be released on Disney+ have been revealed. And as with any show in development, things could still change, and it might not necessarily come to pass.
Roger’s Take: Disney+ really needs more original programming for families, and “Animorphs” could help fill that void, especially as it’s already an established property that people know about and will be much more willing to check out.
Do you think it’s a good idea for an “Animorph” series for Disney+? Let me know on social media!
