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WIRE Buzz: Ray Bradbury's Halloween Tree growing; Animorphs movie morphing; Hulu renewing
There hasn't been a Ray Bradbury adaptation since HBO's Fahrenheit 451 two years ago, but Warner Bros. is looking to bring the prolific genre author back into the pop culture spotlight. Per Deadline, Warner Bros. is developing a film version of The Halloween Tree, with Will Dunn penning the script.
Published in 1972, Bradbury's fantasy-horror novel follows a group of young friends who traverse space and time to save their kidnapped friend from a demon on Halloween night. Along the way, the group (aided by the mysterious Moundshroud) learns the true meaning and cultural origins of the holiday.
The book was previously turned into a 1993 animated TV movie produced by Hanna-Barbera. Bradbury adapted his own work (nabbing a Daytime Emmy for his troubles), while also serving as narrator for the project. Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy provided the voice of Moundshroud.
Warner Bros.' interpretation has yet to find a director and cast.
Children of the '90s are about to lose their collective sh** because Scholastic is developing a big screen Animorphs adventure. Repeat: this is not a drill — SYFY WIRE has confirmed that a live-action film version based on K.A. Applegate's best-selling YA book series about young people who can turn into animals is on the way, via the publisher and Erik Feig's Picturestart.
"The central themes of Animorphs have resonated strongly with kids for more than two decades, and the time is right for a feature film that takes this captivating sci-fi adventure to another level for audiences today," Scholastic Entertainment's lole Lucchese said in a statement. "Picturestart has an incredible track record of success, and Erik and his team are the perfect partners to help bring this exciting new series based on the adventure-packed books to movie screens."
Fifty-four Animorphs novels (famous for covers that show teenagers slowly turning into different beasts) were published between 1996 and 2001, with over 34 million copies in print. Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias serve as the main characters, using their sci-fi talents to stave off a secret alien invasion of Earth. The books spawned a short-lived TV adaptation in the late '90s that ran for two seasons on Nickelodeon and Global.
"We couldn't be more excited to work with Scholastic to adapt Animorphs, an iconic book series with a wildly unique combination of exciting, witty, outlandish and grounded elements that feel all too relevant for our times," added Feig in a statement of his own. "We know these books have a deservedly deep bench of passionate fans — ourselves included — and we hope to make Katherine Applegate and her co-author, Michael Grant, proud as we bring Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias to life for a new generation."
Feig is producing for Picturestart alongside Lucy Kitada. Lucchese is producing on behalf of Scholastic alongside Caitlin Friedman. Working with Picturestart's Royce Reeves Darby, Friedman will oversee script development. No screenwriter is confirmed yet.
Variety brings word that Hulu has handed down renewals for its newest pair of animated shows: Solar Opposites and Crossing Swords.
Solar was originally ordered with a two-season commitment, which means the series, created by Rick and Morty vets Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan, will eventually return for a third outing. On that front, McMahan has said that they've got ideas for at least four seasons. Speaking with SYFY WIRE, the creator voiced his excitement over building out the world of The Wall in future episodes.
A sci-fi sitcom about a group of wrong-footed aliens living in suburbia, Solar Opposites features the voice talents of Roiland, Thomas Middleditch, Mary Mack, and Sean Giambrone.
Hailing from the team that made Robot Chicken on Adult Swim, Crossing Swords (created by John Harvatine IV and Tom Root) is a stop-motion parody of the fantasy/medieval genre. X-Men's Nicholas Hoult voices Patrick, a lowly peasant who gets his dream job of being a squire for the local castle.
Luke Evans, Seth Green, Tony Hale, Wendi McClendon-Covey, Breckin Meyer, Adam Pally, Adam Ray, Tara Strong, Alanna Ubach, Yvette-Nicole Brown, and Maya Erskine co-star.
