The ’90s animated series Gargoyles is making a comeback, this time in a live-action adaptation from Gary Dauberman and James Wan’s Atomic Monster production banner.
The new live-action series focuses on Goliath, the last of a heroic gargoyle race, released from a centuries-old curse, protecting modern-day New York City alongside police detective Elisa Maza. Casting for Goliath and Elisa have yet to be announced.
Dauberman takes on multiple roles for the series, including writer, executive producer, and showrunner, while Atomic Monster, co-led by James Wan and Michael Clear, also comes aboard as executive producers. The pair have previously worked together on the Annabelle films, part of The Conjuring Universe which Wan helped create and directed multiple movies in. Dauberman wrote Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, and Annabelle Comes Homes, the last of which he also directed.
This project is currently in the early development stages under Disney Branded Television.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Gargoyles originally aired from 1994 to 1997, with a unique premise involving gargoyles from a Scottish castle transported to modern-day New York.
The series follows a clan of nocturnal creatures known as gargoyles who turn to stone during the day, led by Goliath (voiced by Keith David). In 994, the clan lives in a castle in Scotland, most of whom are betrayed and killed by humans while petrified, and the remaining few are magically cursed to sleep in stone form until the castle “rises above the clouds.” A thousand years later in 1994, billionaire David Xanatos purchases the gargoyles’ castle, reconstructing it atop his New York skyscraper, the Eyrie Building, awakening Goliath and the rest of his clan. As they attempt to adapt to their new world, they receive assistance from a sympathetic police officer named Elisa Maza (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), and soon find themselves in conflict with the scheming Xanatos. The series also incorporates various supernatural threats to their safety and the world at large.
Created by Greg Weisman, Gargoyles emerged during an era of innovative animated series, resonating with viewers alongside hits like Batman: The Animated Series and X-Men, ultimately gaining cult status.
While Disney had explored adaptations before, a modern-day gargoyle feature in 2010 was abandoned following the underwhelming performance of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.
The original Gargoyles series, co-created by Greg Weisman, has shown support for this project. Weisman expressed his enthusiasm in an interview with Collider, saying, “Gargoyles is still my baby. I don’t own it. I don’t get a dime off of it being on Disney+. Yet I’m so thrilled that it is. I’m thrilled that it represents a chance — even if it’s a slim chance — to bring it back.”