During the more than five months that the United States screenwriters were on strike, they could not finalize agreements or develop new television projects. Now that normality has returned, at least on the part of the creatives (as the actors continue their strike), it is confirmed that the trends have not changed: recycling intellectual properties is still a priority for the studios. And, in this eagerness to replicate well-known titles, an unexpected project arrives: a remake of Gargoyles led by Gary Dauberman, the screenwriter of the Annabelle horror films.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dauberman will be screenwriter, executive producer and showrunner of this new version of Gargoyles with Atomic Monster, James Wan’s production company specializing in horror, as executive producers. Atomic Monster, in addition to being behind the horror franchise derived from The Warren File, which includes the Annabelle films or The Nun, has also recently released such discussed titles as M3GAN or Malignant.
The project, which is still in the development phase, adapts the animated series broadcast between 1994 and 1997 and which had 78 episodes. At the time it was relevant because, like the Batman animated series, it chose to have darker colors and themes, as well as more elaborate plots than other Disney children’s productions.
It focused on gargoyles made at the end of the 9th century in Scotland that, after being bought by a millionaire, were relocated to a skyscraper in Manhattan, where the original castle was rebuilt. There they woke up from their spell and went on to protect the city with the help of a police officer, Elisa Maza, while they tried to adapt to modern life. “Stones by day, warriors by night”, which was mentioned in the series.
We will have to see, however, what this unusual alliance between Disney and such respected names in the world of horror turns out to be. Will Dauberman be able to give this Mickey Mouse property a more adult and terrifying veneer in the same way that, for example, Tony Gilroy was able to take the Star Wars universe to another level with Andor? Or will his audiovisual gaze be anesthetized by the creative restrictions of the studio?
Dauberman recently showed his ability to combine horror with a more youthful tone by adapting Stephen King’s It in the two film installments directed by Andy Muschietti. Of course, even though they were accessible to a youth audience, they maintained the spirit of terror that we will have to see how it can have a place in Disney.
