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Disney revives the Spiderwick Chronicles with new TV series on Disney+
The beloved children's book series will get new life on the streaming service.
Friday's arrival of Disney+ Day brought with it a whirlwind of announcements from the Walt Disney Company ranging from trailer releases for previously announced projects to behind-the-scenes teases from stars to, in at least one case, the return of a beloved children's book franchise from the 2000s. Variety reports the House of Mouse is gearing up to adapted the beloved fantasy saga The Spiderwick Chronicles into a new series that will land on the Disney+ platform.
Variety first reported the news Friday morning as Disney was in the thick of its various Disney+ Day announcements.
Launched in 2003 by co-creators Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, The Spiderwick Chronicles follows the adventures of the Grace family -- specifically twin brothers Jared and Simon, and their older sister Mallory -- as they move into their great uncle's home, Spiderwick Estate. Almost immediately, the Grace kids stumble upon secret rooms in the house, including a hidden library that points to more secrets in and around the estate. Eventually they uncover an entire secret world of fairy creatures they never knew existed, launching them into a series of adventures that proved extremely popular among young readers.
The Spiderwick Chronicles proved so popular, in fact, that there's already been one attempt to adapt it into a franchise. In 2008 Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies launched a Spiderwick Chronicles feature film starring Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Martin Short, and Nick Nolte. Though it arrived amid Harry Potter movie mania, the film didn't do well enough to keep the series going on the big screen.
Now, it's Disney's turn to try and bring the books to life, and by going the series route they leave themselves plenty of room to adapt the books into something expansive and potentially long-running. Black and DiTerlizzi eventually released five books in the main Spiderwick series between 2003 and 2004, then followed them up with a sequel series, Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, from 2007 to 2009. So there's plenty to work with.
Beyond that, we don't really have any major information about who's working on the series, who will star, or when we can expect it. For now, just go dust off your old Spiderwick books and get ready.
