Animorphs Authors Express Concerns About Disney+ Live-Action Series

Today, it was announced that Disney+ and Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media are teaming up to bring a new live-action series based on the beloved “Animorphs” book series by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. The new series will follow a group of teenagers who stumble upon a hidden threat in their lives, all while navigating the challenges of high school relationships and curfews. In the original books, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias must balance being regular teens with the monumental task of stopping an alien race from taking over the galaxy.

Fans of the novels and the previous live-action series are buzzing with excitement about the upcoming adaptation. While authors Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant expressed some concerns about the project being under-resourced, they placed their trust in EP Sev Ohanian to bring the story to life. Applegate mentioned on social media that they are cautiously optimistic about the series, given Ohanian’s genuine passion for “Animorphs.” With fingers crossed, they are hopeful that the project will be a success.

The creative team behind the series includes writer and executive producer Bayan Wolcott, along with executive producers Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, and Sev Ohanian from Proximity Media. Iole Lucchese and Caitlin Friedman from original book publisher Scholastic will also serve as executive producers. The series will be produced by 20th Television, with Proximity Media’s Simone Harris and Dezi Gallegos overseeing the project.

The “Animorphs” book series, which ran for 54 books from 1996 to 2001, sold over 35 million copies worldwide. The series also included companion novels like “The Hork-Bajir Chronicles,” “The Andalite Chronicles,” and “Visser.” Previously adapted as a live-action series on Nickelodeon, fans are eager to see how the story will be reimagined for a new generation. Despite previous attempts to bring “Animorphs” to the big screen in 2020, the project never came to fruition. Now, with Disney+ behind it, fans are hopeful that this new series will capture the magic of the original books and bring the beloved characters to life once again.