Recently, Gargoyles was rumored as a feature film. But it now looks like we know what the plans are for Disney’s live-action take on the ’90s animated TV hit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gargoyles is being reinvented as a live-action Disney+ series by Gary Dauberman and James Wan’s Atomic Monster. The two previously collaborated on the Annabelle franchise. Dauberman not only wrote Annabelle: Creation, but he also directed Annabelle Comes Home. Recently, he wrote and directed the remake of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot. Dauberman will write, executive produce, and serve as the Disney+ Gargoyles series showrunner along with James Wan’s Atomic Monster.
Long before Disney+ existed, the original Gargoyles cartoon series ran for three seasons and 78 episodes, from 1994 to 1997. Despite seeming like a comic-book-based property, it was actually a totally original concept. Writer Michael Reaves spearheaded Gargoyles, along with future Young Justice showrunner Greg Weisman. It centered on a group of 10th-century gargoyles who were petrified in stone for 1,000 years. Eventually, they arrive in New York, perched atop some Manhattan skyscrapers. There, they finally awaken and become the defenders of the city. Actor Keith David played the lead Gargoyle Goliath. And a metric ton of Star Trek actors also lent their voices to the show.
Ever since the cartoon ended in ’97, Disney has attempted to revive Gargoyles in one format or another. The animated series’ original writers once wrote a script that translated the show’s first several episodes into live-action. In more recent years, even Jordan Peele came up with a Gargoyles script. Gargoyles makes sense for Disney+ to adapt as a series. It’s not Marvel or Star Wars, but it certainly appeals to a very similar demographic — those who grew up with the original cartoon on weekday afternoons. And with Dauberman and James Wan involved, we can expect something a little darker than the usual Disney+ fare.
We don’t know too much about the Gargoyles series yet, but Variety has shared the following logline:
Based on the cult classic Disney animated series, Goliath is the last of a heroic race of gargoyle warriors who once lived among mankind. Free from a centuries long curse that turned him into stone, Goliath struggles to solve the mystery of his past while watching over modern-day New York City alongside police detective Elisa Maza.
We can’t wait to see how this take on the original unfolds.
Originally published on October 16, 2023.