Memorable villains can often be more interesting than a story’s protagonist, and The Walt Disney Company has created a whole host of baddies over the years.
So it’s not surprising to hear that a Disney villains show is in the works for their upcoming streaming service, Disney+. Learn more about the new show, which will be called Book of Enchantment, below.
The Hollywood Reporter says that the new drama is based on author Serena Valentino‘s book series which has focused on characters like The Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Beast from Beauty and the Beast, Ursula the Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and Mother Gothel from Tangled. (Wait, wasn’t Gaston the villain of Beauty and the Beast?)
THR says the series “has been in the works for months”, and now it officially has a writer/producer – but one whose credits don’t exactly indicate he’s the perfect fit for the job. Michael Seitzman is leading the charge here, and so far he’s largely been known as a writer of shows like Intelligence, Josh Holloway’s post-Lost sci-fi drama that ran for one season, and Code Black, a CBS medical drama that lasted three seasons. He’s also spearheading the John Grisham universe over at Hulu, working on shows like The Rainmaker and Rogue Lawyer. Nothing on his resume signals that he’s the person who can bring these Disney characters to life on the small screen, but maybe he’ll surprise us.
Disney has found success in the past with throwing its villains into a live-action story, though. Director Robert Stromberg‘s Maleficent—starring Angelina Jolie as the classic Sleeping Beauty antagonist—became the highest-grossing movie of 2014, bringing in a downright evil $758 million worldwide. (A sequel is on its way in 2020.) More recently, the live-action Aladdin movie trailer certainly came under its fair share of scrutiny thanks to Will Smith‘s frankly horrifying genie, but there’s no denying that actor Marwan Kenzari is playing a Jafar who most certainly fucks. There are different kinds of successes, people.
(Excerpts) Read More at: SlashFilm.com and Collider.com