‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’ Teaser Teases a World of Magic!! Check It Out!!

When Disney axed what was certain to be a profitable and viewer-heavy production back in 2021, fans of the book series, The Spiderwick Chronicles, let out a collective groan. Though a film of the same name was dropped over a decade ago in 2008, a TV version never grew legs and, though Disney seemed like it would be the perfect fit for such a project, budget cuts would crush the childhood dreams of fans around the world. Seeing a space for plenty of opportunity and a doorway to a dedicated fandom desperately in need of a small-screen adaptation, Roku would eventually swoop in to save the day, picking up The Spiderwick Chronicles when it was all but squashed. Just four months after Roku nabbed the rights for the banished Disney series, we now have our first-look trailer at the adventure that awaits audiences when The Spiderwick Chronicles arrives later this year.

The best part about a book series like The Spiderwick Chronicles (which spans six installments) receiving a TV adaptation is that there are a lot more avenues to explore. While the 2008 movie was only an hour and a half in length, multiple episodes can really dig into the stories first penned by writing duo Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. The trailer shows the Grace siblings, Mallory (Mychala Lee), Jared (Lyon Daniels), and Simon (Noah Cottrell) moving into a creepy old house with their mother, where a man named Mulgarath (Christian Slater) explains to them that all is not as it seems.

Although Disney decided to cut The Spiderwick Chronicles’ from its slate, the House of Mouse certainly understood the assignment when it came to casting for a successful adaptation. Along with Daniels (We Can Be Heroes) and Cottrell (Skyscraper) as twin brothers Jared and Simon, and Lee (Truth Be Told) as Mallory, the rest of the cast includes Joy Bryant (Bobby) as the trio’s mother, Helen, Hunter Dillon (The Exorcist) as Hatcher, Jack Dylan Grazer (It) as Thimbletack, Alyvia Alyn Lind (Chucky) as Calliope, Momona Tamada (The Baby-Sitters Club) as Emiko, Patty Guggenheim (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) as Stacy Varnow, and Christian Slater (True Romance) as the villainous Mulgarath. Roku’s acquisition of The Spiderwick Chronicles certainly gave Slater an extra sigh of relief after his other Disney series, Willow, was incredibly short-lived on the studio’s streamer, receiving a cancellation not long into its first and only season.

The Creative Minds Behind ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’

Carrying audiences off to the fantastical world of fairies and ogres from page to screen is a crack team of talented directors, writers, and producers. Known for her feature-length projects like Marry Me and her small-screen work on shows like She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Girls5Eva, two of the adaptation’s episodes will be under the watchful eye of Kat Coiro. While the visual representation of the fantasy world is important in crafting a successful adaptation, perhaps even more crucial will be the work of the writing team, which includes names like Charlie Paulin, Jenn Kao, Hannah Ahn, Dennis Saldua, and Jasmyne Peck. Aron Eli Coleite also joins the writing team and serves as a producer with the bragging rights of being the project’s creator. Filling out the executive production team will be Coiro, Jeremy Bell, and Grace Gilroy.