Disney+ has announced that Witch Mountain, a reimagining of the successful film franchise, has received the green light for a pilot episode on the streaming platform.
The series is a modern reinvention of the cult classic that takes place in the shadow of "Witch Mountain," following two teens that develop strange abilities and discover their sleepy suburb may not be as idyllic as it seems.
Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World: Dominion) stars in the lead role of Audrey, Tia's devoted and loving mother. Her husband died from a mental illness and she tries to reassure a fretful Tia that she shows no sign of following her father's dark spiral. A warm mama bear type, but like everyone in this town, not everything is as it seems.
Isabel Gravitt (The Watcher), Levi Miller (Streamline), Bianca "b" Norwood (We Crashed), and Jackson Kelly (Straight Man) have all also been cast in the pilot.
Travis Fickett and Terry Matalas co-wrote that and are executive producers; Augustine Frizzell (Euphoria) will direct and is executive producer on the pilot. John Fox and John Davis of Davis Entertainment are executive producing as well as Gary Marsh.
Gravitt plays Tia, a straight-A student who's regarded by her classmates as "perfect," although she regards herself as flawed. She's terrified of failure and is plagued by nightmares and fears that her late father's schizophrenia is starting to exhibit itself in her. Tia has "hallucinations" in which people around her step outside their living bodies and voice their deepest, darkest fears and desires and rages.
Miller will be Ben, a troubled teen who makes ends meet by writing papers for other students but he's got a hot temper and if he slugs another student, he'll be expelled. Ben is best friends with Corey, his co-worker at the diner. He’s recently made a troubling discovery about himself, he can force others in his vicinity to move according to his will and there's something drawing him inexplicably in the direction of Tia.
Norwood plays Corey, Ben's closest friend, an outsider with tattoos, Corey is a very mature teen who comes across older than they are. They are one step away from expulsion and puts more care into looking like a My Chemical Romance song that became an anime fan. Corey works at the local diner alongside Ben and is in his circle of trust, but doesn't appreciate it when he tries to act as their protector.
Finally, Kelly has been tapped to play Peter, Tia's closest male friend. Peter is lovesick on the subject of Tia, but she's unaware of his charms, and equally unaware of his devotion. But when Tia expresses her concerns about the seemingly impossible happenings around them, she learns that Peter's observant, cautious nature might be an asset in figuring out the mystery around them.
We don't have a premiere date for this one quite yet (it has the green light for a pilot episode, not a series order), but have to believe it could arrive in 2024 or perhaps 2025 at the latest.
Are you excited for more Witch Mountain?