The adaptation, starring Christian Slater as the evil ogre Mulgarath, Joy Bryant as loving matriarch Helen Grace, and Lyon Daniels and Noah Cottrell as twins Jared and Simon, will be shopped to a new home network after being dropped by the Mouse House due to cost cutting.
The upcoming Spiderwick Chronicles live-action series has been dropped by Disney+ as part of a content write-off initiative to cut costs, according to Deadline, as well as part of the streamer’s strategic lean away from non-Disney IP. The reportedly completed eight-episode series is not dead, however, and will be shopped to other networks. It had gone into production last Fall and wrapped filming earlier this year.
Spiderwick follows the Grace Family - twin brothers Jared and Simon, sister Mallory and their mother Helen - as they move into their ancestral home and unravel a dark mystery about their great-great Uncle who discovered the secret faerie world parallel to their own.
Joy Bryant (Ballers, Trinkets) plays loving matriarch Helen Grace, while Lyon Daniels (We Can be Heroes) and Noah Cottrell (Skyscraper, Gordita Chronicles) star as the twins Jared and Simon, respectively. Jared is adventurous and impulsive, with some nagging anger issues, while Simon is the rational and levelheaded foil to his twin. Also joining the cast was the previously announced Christian Slater (Dirty John, Mr. Robot) as the evil ogre Mulgarath.
The series is based upon the novels by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, which consist of, “The Field Guide,” “The Seeing Stone,” “Lucinda’s Secret,” “The Ironwood Tree” and “The Wrath of Mulgarath.” A spinoff trilogy, titled “Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles,” adds “The Nixie’s Song,” “A Giant Problem” and “The Wyrm King.”
Kat Coiro (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Marry Me) directed the first two episodes, with Aron Eli Coleite as showrunner, and Coleite, Black, DiTerlizzi, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg and Julie Kane-Ritsch executive producing. The series is produced by Paramount Television Studios and 20th Television. The VFX were crafted by Ingenuity Studios, with Dan Nicholls acting as visual effects producer.
Originally slated for a 2023 release, The Spiderwick Chronicles will hopefully air on a new network sometime very soon.
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
