Disney has just acquired the rights to a popular youth fantasy series in a seven-figure deal! Disney will be working with the author to bring this fantasy world to life for audiences worldwide.
The Walt Disney Company
According to Deadline, Walt Disney Studios “won an auction to acquire rights to Impossible Creatures.” This popular fantasy series, written by author Katherine Rundell, has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. The series has become a “publishing phenomenon on the order of Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Twilight Saga.” So far, two of the five planned books have been published in this series, and now, with this deal, Katherine Rundell will be adapting the first two books into screenplays.
Deadline wrote that the finalists for the rights to Impossible Creatures included Disney, Warner Bros, and Netflix. Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, also made a statement saying, “When I read Impossible Creatures, I knew it belonged here at Disney. I was immediately drawn into the vibrant world Katherine imagined and the possibilities of what we could do together with this story. Written by Katherine herself, these movies are in the best of hands with our Walt Disney Studios team, and I can’t wait to see this tale brought to the screen.” So far, the series includes two books: Impossible Creatures and The Poisoned King, but the series will eventually feature five books.
Katherine Rundell ©RCW Lit Agency
The Impossible Creatures series follows Christopher as he learns about the Archipelago, where magical creatures have thrived for thousands of years, until now. After meeting Mal, Christopher and Mal team up on an adventure through the islands of the Archipelago to find out why the magic is fading and the magical creatures are dying. The first book in the series, titled Impossible Creatures, has been a #1 New York Times Bestseller and a Wall Street Journal Best Children’s Book of the Year. It has also been a Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year.
©Amazon
Numerous people were involved in Disney’s deal with Katherine Rundell, including David Greenbaum (President of Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios), Daria Cercek (President of Disney Live Action), Allison Arlikhman (SVP Production), and Clare Reeth (Disney Head of Literary Affairs). The deal was brokered by Charles Collier via Chalcot Square Arts and Media Management directly with the Walt Disney Pictures team led by David Greenbaum, Kal Walthers, Paige Olson, and Bill Neuschaefer.
©Amazon
With this deal, Disney will be working with Katherine Rundell to adapt the books to the big screen and Walt Disney Studios also has a stake in the five-book series and a first-look deal that includes all of Katherine Rundell’s current and upcoming lit properties. According to Deadline, this must-have Hollywood property could come with youth-appeal movies, merchandise and maybe even theme park attractions.
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This is amazing news! The books are so good, and it will be awesome to see them turned into movies.