Disney+ has officially decided not to move forward with its planned reboot of Holes, shelving the pilot for the reimagined series despite early momentum and high expectations.
The project, which was set to offer a gender-swapped take on Louis Sachar’s beloved 1998 novel and the 2003 Disney film adaptation, starred The Baby-Sitters Club alum Shay Rudolph in the lead role. Greg Kinnear and Aidy Bryant were also attached to the cast.
The decision comes nearly a year after Disney+ announced the reboot in early January 2025, positioning the series as a fresh take on the award-winning story for a new generation. According to Deadline, the pilot was officially scrapped on Friday, December 12.
While Disney had received tax credits in August that could have supported the series, the incentives were not title-specific and can be reassigned to other projects. Ultimately, insiders note that the bar for revisiting such a culturally significant property was exceptionally high, and the streamer opted not to proceed.
A Full-Circle Moment That Didn’t Move Forward
The reboot was developed under Disney Branded Entertainment, with Drew Goddard executive producing through his banner Goddard Textiles alongside Sarah Esberg. At the time of the project’s announcement, Goddard spoke openly about the personal connection he had to the source material.
“My mom’s been a schoolteacher for her whole life and, as such, she’s served as a de facto book scout for Goddard Textiles,” Goddard said in a previous interview with Variety. “Holes was the first book she suggested to me — this was back in the late ‘90s — and she was positive it was going to be a phenomenon. It feels good to bring it full circle for Mrs. Goddard and her sixth grade class.”
Despite that sentiment, the series failed to advance beyond the pilot stage.
A Beloved Classic With Big Shoes to Fill
Originally published in 1998, Holes quickly became a literary phenomenon, winning both the National Book Award and the Newbery Medal. The story follows Stanley Yelnats, a boy plagued by a family curse of bad luck who is wrongly convicted of theft and sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where boys are forced to dig holes daily for a mysterious reason.
The 2003 film adaptation, written by Sachar himself and directed by Andrew Davis, starred Shia LaBeouf as Stanley alongside an ensemble cast that included Sigourney Weaver, Khleo Thomas, Jon Voight, Tim Blake Nelson, and Patricia Arquette. The film grossed an estimated $71 million worldwide against a reported $20 million budget and has since become a staple of early-2000s Disney nostalgia.
Inside the Cancelled Reimagining
The Disney+ reboot aimed to flip the story’s perspective, centering on a teenage girl named Hayley, played by Rudolph, who is sent to a detention camp run by a ruthless Warden portrayed by Kinnear. Aidy Bryant was also set to star in the series.
The official logline described the project as “a reimagining of the beloved 1998 book from Louis Sachar, in which a teenage girl is sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden forces the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose.”
In addition to Rudolph, Kinnear, and Bryant, the pilot featured Delis Alicea, Anire Kim Amoda, Noah Cottrell, Iesha Daniels, Sophie Dieterlen, Alexandra Doke, and Maeve Press.
The pilot was written by Alina Mankin, with Liz Phang attached as showrunner. Executive producers also included Mike Medavoy, who produced the original film, along with Walden Media, rights holder Shamrock, and 20th Television, which served as the studio.
Disney Branded Television’s Broader Strategy
The cancellation comes as Disney Branded Television continues to refine its approach to book adaptations and franchise storytelling. On Disney+, the company has found success with Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which recently premiered its second season and has already secured a third-season renewal.
Elsewhere, Disney Branded Television recently gave a pilot order to Eerie Prep, based on the Eerie Elementary book series, for both Disney+ and Disney Channel—signaling that literary adaptations remain a priority, even as Holes falls by the wayside.
For fans of the original story, the decision underscores just how carefully Disney is weighing reboots of legacy titles—especially those that hold a near-sacred place in pop culture. While Holes may not be returning to Camp Green Lake anytime soon, its legacy as both a literary and cinematic classic remains firmly intact.