In 1995, director Brad Silberling and Amblin Entertainment joined forces with Universal Pictures to make one of the most beloved movies of the 1990s, Casper, which was released in May 1995. Starring teenage Addams Family star Christina Ricci and Spaceballs star Bill Pullman, the film centered on a single father and his young daughter moving into a new house in Maine called the Whipstaff Manor, which they eventually realize is inhabited by a young ghost named Casper and his three poltergeist uncles. Kat Harvey quickly befriends Casper; they help each other come out of their shells, while her father, Dr. James Harvey, takes a job attempting to rid the house of its ghosts. The movie quickly became a hit, ranking as one of the ten highest-grossing movies of that year (trailing major hits like Toy Story, Goldeneye, and Pocahontas). In the 30 years since his big-screen debut, Casper appeared in a handful of films and TV shows; the most recent was the Cartoon Network–hosted animated series Casper’s Scare School. After that series ended in 2012, the friendly ghost has been notably absent from the world of entertainment, but that now seems set to change moving forward. According to Deadline, Disney+ is now in development on a new live-action series centered on Casper the Friendly Ghost. While the series does not have an official title, it is being developed by executive producers Rob Letterman and Hilary Winston, who also served in the same position for the Disney+ Goosebumps series. Another executive producer on the project is Steven Spielberg, who previously worked as an executive producer on the original 1995 Casper movie.

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The series is said to be a modern update on the classic ghost story, and it is in the early stages of development as of writing. Disney+ is reportedly envisioning the show with a darker edge, similar to what viewers have seen in Netflix’s Wednesday, a spin-off of The Addams Family. Focused on the titular eldest child from the Addams family, who is played by Jenna Ortega, the show takes a more adult look into Wednesday’s life and shows her in some increasingly dark situations. This feeling is expected to be replicated in a new way for the Casper series. Considering Wednesday has become one of Netflix’s biggest hits over the last few years, using its tone as an inspiration for this new Casper series should add a new flavor to the classic story. That tone will also make for a unique adventure, with a character as cheerful and friendly as Casper at the forefront, although it remains to be seen which other characters will be featured alongside him.

As of this writing, the new Disney+ Casper series does not have a timeframe for development or release.

Release Date

May 26, 1995

Runtime

100 minutes

Director

Brad Silberling