The invasion is returning to a small screen near you thanks toRyan Coogler!
The Oscar-winning filmmaker is executive producing anAnimorphsTV series currently in early development at Disney+,Entertainment Weeklyhas learned. Coogler will serve as an executive producer alongside Proximity Media partners Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler, with Iole Lucchese and Caitlin Friedman executive producing for Scholastic. The children's book publisher is the original distributor of K. A. Applegate's 54-book youth sci-fi series, initially published between 1996 and 2001.
The TestamentsandThe Summer I Turned Prettyscribe Bayan Wolcott has been attached to write and executive produce the series for 20th Television. Proximity Media's Simone Harris, vice president and head of TV, and Dezi Gallegos, director of TV development, will also oversee the project.
The show's official logline reads, "Animorphsfollows a group of teenagers who uncover a hidden threat lurking beneath their everyday lives, all while juggling relationships, curfews, and the chaos of high school."
The beloved book series, created by Katherine Applegate and her husband Michael Grant, followed a group of teenagers — Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias — who gain the ability to morph into any animal they touch after meeting a dying alien of the Andalite race. They learn that the Andalite has been fighting a parasitic alien race known as Yeerks, who are looking to take over the Earth in a bid to expand their empire across the galaxy.
The teens unite to use their powers within a secret resistance against the Yeerks and to save the world. Casual after-school activities.
The chapter books were first adapted for TV for a live-action series that aired on Nickelodeon for two seasons, from 1998 to 2000. The series starredX-Menactor Shawn Ashmore, Brooke Nevin, Boris Cabrera, Nadia Nascimento, and Christopher Ralph as the titular animorphs. Paulo Costanzo later joined the cast as Ax, a young Andalite stranded on Earth.
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The news of Coogler's latest comes after the filmmaker wonBest Original Screenplayat the2026 Oscarsfor his critically acclaimed vampire period piece,Sinners. Fellow collaborator Autumn Durald Arkapaw also became thefirst woman to win Best Cinematographyin Academy Awards history, while Ludwig Göransson picked up his third Oscar for Best Original Score.
And the film's leading man,Michael B. Jordan, took home the trophy for Best Actor after playing both twins Smoke and Stack.
The series is the second project under Coogler and Proximity Media's TV overall deal with Disney. The director's other project, a reboot ofThe X Filesstarring Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel, was given thegreen light for a pilotby Hulu in February.
Original series starGillian Andersonhaspraised Coogler's vision for the new series, telling fans that the project is "different" and "special," so fans should "give it a break."
"We've had a few conversations," Anderson said of Cooglerduring an appearance at Awesome Con. "He's such a cool guy, and so talented. And the pilot script is really good. I would say, have an open mind and give it a chance, because it's gonna be f---ing cool. It really is."
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