Kat Coiro will direct the first two episodes of The Spiderwick Chronicles for Disney+ according to Deadline. She is also directing and executive producing six episodes of the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe series She-Hulk for the streamer.
Based on the children’s book series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, Disney+ describes the show as a “modern coming-of-age story combined with fantasy adventure.” It follows the Grace Family — twin brothers Jared and Simon, their sister Mallory and mother Helen — as they move into their dilapidated ancestral home and begin to unravel a dark mystery about their great-great Uncle who once discovered the secret and foreboding faerie world existing parallel to their own.
Coiro most recently directed the romantic comedy film Marry Me, starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. She’s also directed episodes of Mozart in the Jungle, Dead to Me and Shameless.
The main series includes five books—The Field Guide (2003), The Seeing Stone (2003), Lucinda’s Secret (2003), The Ironwood Tree (2004) and The Wrath of Mulgarath (2004). A bunch of spinoffs and companion books have also been published. A second series includes The Nixie’s Song (2007), A Giant Problem (2008) and The Wyrm King (2009).
A film adaptation directed by Mark Waters was released in 2008 to positive reviews. It grossed $164 million worldwide and starred Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Short, Nick Nolte and Seth Rogen.
The last few years have been especially ripe for young-adult fare. Disney+ also recently announced the central cast for another upcoming children’s book adaptation, Percy Jackson. Like The Spiderwick Chronicles, the Percy Jackson books had also been adapted for the big screen prior to getting a streaming reboot. Netflix, meanwhile, was said to be developing series and films based on C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia books. Netflix previously rebooted A Series of Unfortunate Events for the streaming era, after its theatrical adaptation, like The Spiderwick Chronicles movie, failed to generate enough interest to justify sequels. And don’t be surprised if Warner Bros. pivots the Harry Potter series to streaming on HBO Max after the rather lackluster performance of the third Fantastic Beasts film.
The Spiderwick Chronicles series will be produced by Paramount Television Studios and 20th Television. Aron Eli Coleite will serve as showrunner for the show, and will also executive produce alongside Black, DiTerlizzi, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg and Julie Kane-Ritsch.
There is currently no release date for The Spiderwick Chronicles.
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