MOVIE NEWS – The highly anticipated adaptation of Disney Plus has fallen victim to cutbacks as the company seeks a leaner, more profitable streaming model.

The Spiderwick Chronicles, a Disney Plus series, has been cancelled amid a wave of cost-cutting decisions across the media empire.

The Spiderwick Chronicles was a planned live-action Disney Plus series that would have adapted the children’s book series of the same name, which told the adventures of the Grace family, with the three children at the story’s centre.

After moving into the Spiderwick estate, the children discover the magical fairies. They embark on a grand adventure that escalates into a battle to save the world from the malevolent creatures. The book series was a success, and in 2008, it was made into a feature film, which critics well received. Disney has announced plans to produce a more elaborate adaptation for Disney Plus, with filming starting in 2022.

In the latest act in a long and deliberate attempt to cut costs and manage its budget, Disney has decided to shelve the project’s release plans. As reported by Deadline, the company’s new initiative is to focus on its own IP. Tighter content controls at Disney Plus and Hulu have led to the series being taken off the schedule. The Spiderwick Chronicles is not the first victim of this kind of cost-cutting decision. An Indiana Jones Disney Plus series was also cancelled mid-development. Despite being a big-name IP owned by Lucasfilm. The company has also committed to producing less content overall based on their biggest IPs. So, the project was unfortunately beaten out by others in the bid to release Disney Plus.

Despite the cancellation of the Disney Plus series release, the 8-episode season has already been made by Paramount Television Studios and 20th Television. Unlike the cancelled Batgirl movie, which DCU boss Peter Safran reportedly set aside despite being in post-production because it would have hurt the brand, The Spiderwick Chronicles may still be released. Paramount TV Studios is currently looking for potential buyers for the completed project. The series starred Jack Dylan Grazer, Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell, Joy Bryant, Mychala Lee and Christian Slater as the antagonist.

Disney has been on a warpath of cost-cutting for years, with Bob Iger resigning his salary along with other executives’ pay cuts in 2020 as part of an effort that executives were not happy about.

The latest strategic shift, which focuses on producing less content and prioritizing proprietary IP, stems from decisions made and announced in May. These are now starting to have an impact. Less content and greater quality control of projects based on larger IPs, such as Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is a good move. However, the rejection of external IPs is highly debatable.

The Spiderwick Chronicles may not be present on Disney Plus. However, the platform will not be short of similar projects. After all, the upcoming Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is still on the streaming service.

Source: Deadline