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According to Variety, Coogler, through his company Proximity Media, will serve as one of the executive producers for an Animorphs TV series that’s “in early development” for Disney+. Bayan Wolcott is onboard as writer and executive producer. The show is based on the series of Scholastic books, which ran from 1996-2001. Animorphs was previously adapted into a TV show on Nickelodeon.
Animorphs Could Be a Big Sci-Fi Hit for Disney+
Per Variety, the official synopsis for Coogler’s Animorphs series notes that it “follows a group of teenagers who uncover a hidden threat lurking beneath their everyday lives, all while juggling relationships, curfews, and the chaos of High School.” That premise will surely sound familiar to anyone who knows the source material. The Animorphs books chronicled the adventures of teenagers who looked to save Earth from the invading alien species known as the Yeerks. Thanks to an encounter with an Andalite alien, the teens have the power to transform into any animal they touch — hence the series name. In all likelihood, the Yeerks are the “hidden threat” the synopsis alludes to.
News of this new Animorphs series comes at a very interesting time for Disney+. When the streamer launched back in 2019, there was a heavy emphasis on new Marvel and Star Wars content, which had the unintended consequence of those iconic brands becoming diluted. Now, Marvel is looking to scale back on output and Lucasfilm seems to be pivoting back to theatrical features. The peak streaming era might be over now, but Disney+ still wants to produce new series in an effort to attract new subscribers and retain current ones. Marvel and Lucasfilm are continuing to make projects for streaming, but if they really are cutting back, Animorphs has the potential to make up the difference by giving Disney+ an exciting sci-fi show.
