A Disney villains TV series titled Book of Enchantment is moving forward at Disney Plus. The Mouse House's animated movie villains are, in many ways, as famous as the film's heroes and certainly just as popular (if not more so). Disney has already tapped into their fans' love for fairy tale antagonists in a variety of ways, ranging from the live-action film Maleficent (and its upcoming sequel, Maleficent II) to the Disney Channel movie series Descendants. The former of those projects re-imagined Sleeping Beauty from its namesake's perspective, while the latter followed the teenaged children of evil-doers like Cruella de Vil, Jafar, the Wicked Queen from Snow White, and Maleficent (again).
It was recently reported that Disney is working on a Disney villains TV show for its upcoming streaming service, Disney Plus. The series, like the Maleficent movies, would supposedly give the Mouse House's baddies their time in the spotlight, as part of the streamer's original live-action TV programming block. Well, wonder no longer: we now have confirmation that the Disney villain show is not only happening, but already has a name (or, at least, a working title) and a writer/producer onboard.
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THR is reporting that the Disney villain TV series is currently called Book of Enchantment and is based on the Disney Villain novels by Serena Valentino. The outlet is also confirming that Michael Seitzman (Quantico) is writing the show, as was previously reported. However, there's no mention of Steve Pearlman (Once Upon a Time) in THR's article, even though the earlier report claimed he was working on the series with Seitzman.
Valentino published the first of her Disney Villain books, Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen, in 2009 and is currently working on her seventh novel in the series, with the sixth book (The Odd Sisters: A Villains Novel) due to be published in July. As mentioned, the Villain Novels take a leaf from the Maleficent playbook and explore the backstories for characters like Maleficent, the Beast, Ursula, the Wicked Queen, and Mother Gothel, while also retelling parts of their fairy tales from their perspectives. Valentino has earned her share of critical acclaim for her writing on the novels, which bodes well for the Disney Plus adaptation. Reading between the lines, it sounds like Book of Enchantment will combine elements of Valention's source material to create its own world and setting, similar to what ABC's Once Upon a Time did with other Disney characters.
Considering just how popular Once Upon a Time was (it ran seven seasons in total), a show that does something similar with Disney's villains seems like a recipe for success. It also gives Disney Plus another distinctly Disney-branded TV series to add to their collection, along with the live-action Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe shows they're currently working on. THR says the Book of Enchantment has been in the works for months, so it could be ready to enter production sooner than previously reported (re: the second quarter of 2020). As always, we'll keep you updated on the situation as more information becomes available.
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Source: THR