Disney Wins Massive Bidding War for New Fantasy Movie Franchise

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Disney has found its next big fantasy franchise.

Walt Disney Studios, already home to huge sci-fi and fantasy franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, and Avatar, has added another major property to its collection with a deal worth over a million dollars.

What is Disney’s new fantasy movie franchise?

Disney has acquired the rights to “Impossible Creatures,” a fantasy series written by Katherine Rundell, according to Deadline. Rundell is currently writing the first two books as scripts for potential movies or TV shows.

The author intends to write a series of five Impossible Creatures books. The first book came out in 2023, and the second, called The Poisoned King, was published just last month.

As a huge fan of children’s literature, I’m really excited about what’s happening with Katherine Rundell! She’s the first British children’s author since J.K. Rowling to hit number one on the charts in both the U.K. and the U.S. at the same time – that’s a massive achievement. Her books are clearly resonating with readers, having already sold over four million copies globally, and she was rightly recognized with both Author of the Year and Children’s Book of the Year at last year’s British Book Awards. It’s amazing to see Bloomsbury and Knopf investing so heavily in her work with those huge publishing deals. What started as a three-book plan has blossomed into a five-book series, and she’s even got ideas for expanding the world with spin-offs and prequels! I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Besides Disney, Warner Bros. and Netflix were also competing to obtain the rights to Impossible Creatures.

Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, stated he knew “Impossible Creatures” was a perfect fit for Disney after reading it. He was captivated by the imaginative world created by the author, Katherine, and excited about the potential for collaboration. With Katherine directly involved, Iger is confident the story is in excellent hands with the Walt Disney Studios team and expressed his eagerness to see it adapted for the screen.

Alan Bergman and David Greenbaum from Walt Disney Pictures praised Katherine Rundell’s novel, *Impossible Creatures*, calling it a wonderfully detailed and captivating story. They believe her creative style fits perfectly with Disney’s approach to filmmaking and expressed excitement about working with Rundell and Charles to create a global adventure for audiences.

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2025-10-07 21:07