The Spiderwick Chronicles: Everything We Know So Far About The New Disney+ Series
Of late, Disney+ has been setting its sights on adapting live-action versions of some famous fantasy genre novels. From Christopher Paolini's "Eragon" to Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book," the streamer knows what young adult audiences are looking for. One of Disney's latest fantasy ventures is an adaptation of "The Spiderwick Chronicles," a series of fantasy-adventure children's books from authors Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi.
The streamer made the announcement in November last year, to a thrilled response from fans of the books, who cannot wait to see another generation of kids face off against faeries, goblins, and other magical beasts. The books have previously been adapted into a 2008 feature film featuring Freddie Highmore, Seth Rogen, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Short, and others, and Disney+ has finally announced its entire cast for the televised version as well! Keep reading to learn all we know about it so far.
What is The Spiderwick Chronicles about?
The Disney+ adaptation of "The Spiderwick Chronicles" is described as a "modern coming-of-age story combined with fantasy adventure." The story follows twins Simon and Jared Grace and their older sister Mallory, who discover that their ancestral home is a gateway to the world of fairies and other magical creatures. Here's the official description (via Variety):
Upon leaving New York and moving to Michigan and into their run-down ancestral home — The Spiderwick Estate — with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate, fantastical world
Meet the cast and crew of The Spiderwick Chronicles
As previously announced, Lyon Daniels (pictured above in "We Can Be Heroes") and Noah Cottrell ("Skyscraper") have been cast as the show's protagonists, twin brothers Jared and Simon. Actress Mychala Lee has been tapped to portray their older sister Mallory, and her character is being described as a "classic firstborn child." Christian Slater is set to play the show's villain, Mulgarath. We know from the books that the villain is a giant ogre who was hellbent on taking over the world, and is battled by the Grace children.
Paramount Television Studios and 20th Television are producing "The Spiderwick Chronicles" series for Disney+. American comic book writer-producer Aron Eli Coleite ("Daybreak") is helming the show as showrunner and will executive produce along with the authors of the book, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg, Julie Kane-Ritsch, and Grace Gilroy will also executive produce. Kat Coiro ("She-Hulk: Attorney at Law") will direct the first two episodes and will also serve as executive producer.
When will The Spiderwick Chronicles stream on Disney+?
Although the "Spiderwick Chronicles" series was announced at the Disney+ Day event in November 2021, the streamer hasn't shared a release date for it yet. The Disinsider reports that filming in Vancouver, British Columbia, on September 12, 2022, and is expected to wrap towards the end of January 2023. With those production dates in mind, we're probably looking at a late 2023 release date on Disney+.