‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’: Christian Slater Set to Play the Villain Mulgarath!!

Christian Slater has been tapped to play the villain in Disney+’s live-action series adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles, a new report from Deadline reveals. The actor will portray Mulgarath, an evil shape-shifting ogre who will go to any extent to get the secrets contained in Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Natural World.

The series, announced during Disney+ Day in 2021 with highly imaginative concept art and a poster, is described as a “modern coming-of-age story combined with fantasy adventure.” It is based on a series of children’s fantasy books of the same name by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Which follows the Grace family consisting of twins Jared and Simon, their sister Mallory and mother Helen. As the family moves to Spiderwick Estate, their ancestral home the kids find a book written by their great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick, which acts as a guide to the world of fairies that exist parallel to their own.

The first book The Field Guide was published in 2003 and since has been followed up with titles like The Seeing Stone, Lucinda’s Secret, The Ironwood Tree, and The Wrath of Mulgarath. Which were then followed by another series of books The Nixie’s Song, A Giant Problem, andThe Wyrm King. In 2008, Nickelodeon and Paramount adapted the books with stars like Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Short, and Seth Rogen, however, despite a good reception the movie didn’t turn into a franchise due to its low box office numbers.

In a career spanning over four decades, Slater has a plethora of film credits to his name like Interview with the Vampire, True Romance, King Cobra, We can be Heroes, and has TV series Dirty John, Dr Death, among others. He recently wrapped up Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Pussy Island also starring Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie. The Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards winner is also a part of Netflix‘s upcoming Unfrosted: A Pop Tart Story, which marks Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut and FX’s Fleishman Is In Trouble.

Kat Coiro, who recently helmed the Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, is set to direct the first two episodes. Locke & Key fame Aron Eli Coleite will serve as the showrunner. Coiro and Coleite will also executive produce the series alongside Holly Black, Tony DiTerlizzi, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg, and Julie Kane-Ritsch.