Disney has acquired the rights to Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures series of children’s fantasy novels, the entertainment company announced in a news release.
Rundell’s series kicked off last year with Impossible Creatures, illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie and published by Knopf. The novel follows Christopher and Mal, two children who go on a quest to the mysterious Glimouria Archipelago to discover why magic is disappearing from the world. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book “an epic fantasy with timeless themes and unforgettable characters.” The series continued last month with a second book, The Poisoned King, also illustrated by Mackenzie.
Three more installments in the series are planned, although Disney says that Rundell is “in discussions” to expand it even further.
Rundell will write the screenplays for the first two planned live-action movie adaptations, producing them under her Impossible Films company. Disney says that Impossible Films will “begin a first-look development relationship with Disney that includes all of Rundell’s current and upcoming literary properties.”
In a statement, Rundell said, “I’m absolutely thrilled to be linking arms with Disney.…Our ambition is to build ‘Glimouria’ and Impossible Creatures into a spectacular series of films, so that we can entertain and inspire family audiences across the world.”
And Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “When I read Impossible Creatures, I knew it belonged here at Disney. I was immediately drawn into the vibrant world Katherine imagined and the possibilities of what we could do together with this story. Written by Katherine herself, these movies are in the best of hands with our Walt Disney Studios team, and I can’t wait to see this tale brought to the screen.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
