Did you find 1995’s Casper movie—a story about a dead child ghost helping a young girl cope with her mother’s death—too uplifting? Okay, a little weird, but good news. Disney is reportedly ready to give you a slightly darker take on the classic character. It’s developing a new, modern live-action Casper series from executive producer Steven Spielberg. And it’s said to be more like Netflix’s Wednesday than the beloved Christina Ricci/Bill Pullman film.
Deadline reports Disney+ won a bidding war for a new Casper the Friendly Ghost series. It comes from Disney+ Goosebumps‘ Rob Letterman and Hilary Winston. The two will write the show with Letterman directing. The duo will also serve as executive producers alongside Steven Spielberg. He filled the same role on the 1995 film. After years of mergers and buy-outs, the rights issues means the Disney+ show will also be a co-production between DreamWorks Animation TV and Universal Studio Group’s UCP. Universal Pictures distributed the Ricci/Pullman film, which Spielberg’s Amblin Films co-produced.
According to Deadline‘s Nellie Andreeva, while the series is very early in its development, it’s expected to be a “modern update.” It will have a “dark edge” reminiscent of Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega. (The report also notes the show will use CGI. So sorry real ghosts hoping to audition! You’re out of luck!)
Considering Tim Burton’s take on The Addams Family has been a ratings bonanza for Netflix, it’s easy to understand why Disney+ might want to take a similar approach to Casper. However, unlike The Addams Family, which has always been weird, Casper is quite famously a friendly ghost. Even a “darker” version might not be that dark.
Of course, as we noted at the start of this post, the 1995 Casper is based on some pretty dark ideas! That underlying tension and sadness obviously worked. Kids who grew up with that film (in a way Casper never did) still love it.
Geez, sorry. That “growing up” joke was pretty dark. If you liked it, though, something tells us you’re definitely going to watch this new Disney+ Casper show.