There are, perhaps, few better examples of gateway horror than Goosebumps, the best-selling series of books from author R.L. Stine. Disney knows this and is wisely bringing Stine’s work to the small screen once again in the form of a new live-action series being developed for Disney+. In the first bit of casting news we’ve heard thus far, none other than Justin Long has signed on for a role in the show.
According to Variety, Long is set to play Nathan Bratt. So, who is this, exactly? Bratt is “the new schoolteacher who develops a terrifying connection to a decades-old supernatural murder.” The show is said to be influenced by five of the most popular books in the Goosebumps series, though the specific books have yet to be named. A synopsis for the show reads as follows:
“The series follows a group of five high schoolers who unleash supernatural forces upon their town and must all work together — thanks to and in spite of their friendships, rivalries and pasts with each other — in order to save it, learning much about their own parents’ teenage secrets in the process.”
Long has had an impressive, varied career, starring in everything from comedies like Accepted to Live Free or Die Hard. But he is absolutely no stranger to genre filmmaking, having appeared in Kevin Smith’s deranged body horror film Tusk (which is getting a sequel!) and, more recently, the box office-topping Barbarian, which also hailed from Disney’s 20th Century Studios.
As far as the creative team goes, Nick Stoller (Muppets Most Wanted) and Rob Letterman (Monsters vs. Aliens) serve as co-creators and executive producers. Kevin Murphy is on board as the showrunner and will also executive produce. Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Conor Welch, Erin O’Malley, Iole Lucchese, and Caitlin Friedman are also executive producing, with Julia Ruchman, James Eagan, and Nick Adams on board as co-executive producers and writers. Interestingly, both Letterman and Moritz are tied to the recent live-action Goosebumps films, with Letterman directing the 2015 big-screen hit and Moritz producing.
This will mark the second time Stine’s work has been used to fuel a live-action TV show. Shortly after the first books hit shelves in 1992, a TV show that used an anthology format aired from 1996 to 1998. But there are far more books (240 to be exact) for Disney to use as fuel for this new venture.
The Goosebumps series does not yet have a release date set.
