It seems like the hungry Hollywood execs can’t keep their hands off our cherished nostalgia-laden franchises. The next one in their sights to get a live-action adaptation will be the Animorphs series of novels. The young adult sci-fi books by Katherine Applegate were a ‘90s pop culture revelation, with more than 54 installments in the continuity and a further ten companion novels.
The premise was clever and pretty straightforward, as it featured five teens and an alien having the ability to morph into any animal they touch. The team go on adventures and use their powers to save the world by fending off an evil alien invasion. This might be selling the plot short by a bit, but it’s all deliciously engaging in a cheesy ‘90s way.
Iole Lucchese and Caitlin Friedman of Scholastic Entertainment will be joined by Picturestart’s Erik Feig and Lucy Kitada on the production team. The script, meanwhile, will be overseen by Friedman and Picturestart’s Royce Reeves Darby.
“The central themes of Animorphs have resonated strongly with kids for more than two decades, and the time is right for a feature film that takes this captivating sci-fi adventure to another level for audiences today,” said Lucchese. “Picturestart has an incredible track record of success, and Erik and his team are the perfect partners to help bring this exciting new series based on the adventure-packed books to movie screens.”
Of course, this isn’t the first Scholastic property to get the big screen treatment; Sony Pictures released a live-action Goosebumps movie starring Jack Black back in 2015, and Paramount’s adaptation of Clifford The Big Red Dog will be releasing later this year.
We’ve already seen a host of old franchises get a revival in the form of slick new films, too. Some, to greater degrees of success than others. Power Rangers comes to mind as a refresh done right, which unfortunately did not get the sequel it deserved. While the result of adapting the Artemis Fowl series might have been the greatest misstep of book-to-film adaptations in recent memory.
Are you excited to see the Animorphs receive a green light for a film adaptation though, or would you prefer your memory of the series remain untainted by a movie version? Let us know in the comments.
