Christian Slater debuts as the evil ogre Mulgarath, while Joy Bryant joins as the loving matriarch Helen Grace, with Lyon Daniels and Noah Cottrell starring as the twins Jared and Simon.
It’s all coming together! The Spiderwick Chronicles series is coming to Disney+ and the cast has finally been revealed. Joy Bryant (Ballers, Trinkets) has joined the cast as the loving matriarch Helen Grace, while Lyon Daniels (We Can be Heroes) and Noah Cottrell (Skyscraper, Gordita Chronicles) will 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.
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. Also at play is how contemporary families and children deal with mental health issues.
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.”
This is not the first time Spiderwick has been reimagined; a film adaptation graced the big screen in 2008, starring Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Short, Nick Nolte and Seth Rogen. While the film garnered $162.8 million at the box office, the franchise was never expanded theatrically. A video game adaptation was also released in 2008.
Kat Coiro (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Marry Me) is set to direct 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 will be produced by Paramount Television Studios and 20th Television.
No definitive word yet on who’s handling the show’s VFX production.
The Spiderwick Chronicles will drop on Disney+ sometime in 2023.
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