Disney+ Developing New “Holes” Series
Disney loves to look in its vast library of shows and films for inspiration for new projects and according to Variety, Disney is now developing a new series for Disney+ based on the “Holes” movie from 2003.
Disney has ordered a pilot for the series, and a brief description of the project was also revealed. “In this reimagining of the beloved 1998 book from Louis Sachar, a teenage girl is sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden forces the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose.”
The original movie follows a young Stanley Yelnats, who is dogged by bad luck stemming from an ancient family curse and is sent to Camp Green Lake, a very weird place that’s not green and doesn’t have a lake. Once there, he’s thrown headlong into the adventure of his life when he and his colourful campmates—Squid, Armpit, Zigzag, Magnet, X-Ray and Zero—must dig a hole a day to keep the warden at bay. But why? Through it all, Stanley and company must forge fast friendships as they try to unearth the mystery of what’s really going on in the middle of nowhere.
The film had an all-star cast, including Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson, and Patricia Arquette. No casting details for the upcoming Disney+ series have been revealed.
This new Disney+ series will be written by Alina Mankin, who will be an executive producer. Liz Phang will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Drew Goddard and Sarah Esberg will executive produce via Goddard Textiles.
20th Television is going to be the studio creating the show. Walden Media, which produced the original film, will be producing the upcoming series and has been working on trying to get this project going for a while. Mike Medavoy will executive produce, with rights holder Shamrock also executive producing. Andrea Massaro of Goddard Textiles is a co-executive producer.
Since the project is still in the early stages and has only been given a pilot, it doesn’t necessarily mean the show will happen, and if it does, it might be a while until we see it released on Disney+.
Roger’s Take: It’s been over twenty years since the original movie was released, and I think enough time has passed that a new version of the story could click with new audiences. However, I do expect the gender swap of the main character is going to get some pushback from fans of the movie and book, but this will also help separate it away from them and could help it click with today’s Disney Channel audience if done correctly.
While we wait for the new “Holes” series, you can check out the original film on Disney+ now.
Roger Palmer
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