Things are getting spooky over at Disney+ after the mouse-eared streamer landed the rights to develop a live-action Casper series. According to Deadline, Disney won a five-way bidding war for a new take on Casper the Friendly Ghost, with some impressive talent set to lead the project. The live-action adaptation comes from Rob Letterman and Hilary Winston, who executive-produced the streamer’s Goosebumps series, which was better (and spookier) than you’d think. Meanwhile, Steven Spielberg, who executive-produced the 1995 Casper movie at Universal, will assume the same role for Disney’s new live-action project.
Wednesday vibes, you say?
Details about the new Casper adaptation are as transparent as a ghost fart, but Deadline says the project is in early development. Still, whispers around the water cooler suggest it could have a darker tone akin to how Netflix’s Wednesday approaches the Addams Family lore. I could get into that!
In addition to executive producing the project, Letterman and Winston will write the live-action adaptation of Casper, with Letterman set to direct.
Casper’s been haunting pop culture for decades
The character appeared in 55 theatrical cartoons produced between 1945 and 1959. Casper also appears in comic books published by Harvey Comics since 1952, and Harvey purchased the character outright in 1959. Casper became one of Harvey’s most popular characters, headlining dozens of comic book titles.
Here we go again
Just a few years ago, Variety reported that a new live-action series about Casper was in development at the Peacock streaming service. It was to be from writer/executive producer Kai Yu Wu, with UCP and DreamWorks Animation co-producing, the report described this take on Casper as being “a horror/adventure show” that was going to “reimagine the origin of Casper in a coming-of-age story that explores what it means to be alive. When a new family arrives in the small town of Eternal Falls, Casper finds himself entangled in a mystery uncovering dark secrets that have been buried for over 100 years.”
I love the 1995 Casper movie, and positively love the idea of bringing the character back for a Wednesday-like TV series. There are all sorts of fun ways to approach that tone and premise. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this project as it develops.
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