Another hotly anticipated Disney+ sci-fi series has been cancelled according to one of the creatives behind the project.
Disney+ purged dozens of already-released movies and shows from its service in May 2023, including decently budgeted series like Willow and The Mysterious Benedict Society. Hulu followed suit that Summer with its own removals. In the following months, planned shows like The Spiderwick Chronicles were abandoned from the service.
These moves were true signs that the 'Peak TV' era of Hollywood had reached its end, with media conglomerates like Disney no longer splurging on countless projects to boost subscriber counts for their streaming services, instead becoming much more selective with which ones it decides to greenlight and keep on its service.
Most recently, Disney+ has canceled Star Wars' The Acolyte and young-adult fantasy-adventure series Renegade Nell.
Another Sci-Fi Disney+ Series Gets the Boot
According to star Bryce Dallas Howard, the highly anticipated Witch Mountain Disney+ series is no longer moving forward at Disney.
Howard - who was attached to lead the sci-fi series stacked cast - revealed the news in a panel appearance at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto (via Agents of Fandom).
She offered no specific details as to why the Witch Mountain remake series was left by the wayside, but one can assume it had something to do with changing priorities at Disney.
Howard (who is best known for her work on titles like Jurassic World and The Mandalorian), was first attached to the series in December 2022 with Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett (of Star Trek: Picard and the 12 Monkeys fame) set to write the project.
The streaming show was reportedly set to retell the story of 1975's Escape to Witch Mountain film, following two orphaned siblings with mysterious psychic powers and a thrilling chase to stop a cruel millionaire from harnessing their abilities for evil.
Howard was reportedly set to be joined by Isabel Gravitt, Levi Miller, Bianca Norwood, and Jackson Kelly, and not much had been heard from the project since its initial reporting.
Is This The End of the Witch Mountain Franchise?
Fans who had been looking forward to the Witch Mountain Disney+ series will surely be disappointed by this update from Bryce Dallas Howard.
Howard's involvement - along with some of the talent assembled behind the scenes on the project - could have made some an interesting addition to the Disney+ catalog outside of its tentpole Marvel and Star Wars brands.
However, as the financial belts start to tighten across the entertainment industry, a title like Witch Mountain getting the ax is not all that surprising.
The Witch Mountain franchise has long been a bit of an oddity at Disney.
While the series has yielded five separate films dating back to 1975, it is not something that often comes up in the conversation about Disney's vast portfolio.
Yes, this new sci-fi series could have been a way to bring the franchise back into the conversation and modernize it for the present day, but, given its relative obscurity, it was anything but a surefire bet.
As of late, Disney - and the rest of Hollywood - has doubled down on known quantities and guaranteed successes (or at least as guaranteed as one can get). Witch Mountain is simply not that - especially when one considers the significant budget that would likely be required for a series of this scale.
The last fans heard from the franchise was the Dwayne "The Rock" Jonson-led 2009 reboot attempt, Race to Witch Mountain, which earned middling reviews (42% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a mediocre $106.4 million worldwide at the box office.
Perhaps in a different time, the Witch Mountain Disney+ would get made. However, given the financial throes the entertainment industry finds itself in, it makes sense why a series such as this would be set aside.
All five Witch Mountain movies are streaming now on Disney+.
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