Disney orders ‘Witch Mountain’ pilot for Disney+ starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Isabel Gravitt and Levi Miller

Hollywood movie studios, including The Walt Disney Company, are no strangers to reboots. The studio has produced a number of sequels as well as a number of live-action films based on popular animated features, including “Beauty and the Beast” and the upcoming “The Little Mermaid.” Now Disney wants to restart the “Witch Mountain” series.

It is being reported that Disney+ has ordered a pilot for “Witch Mountain”, a new version of the film series. The cast will include Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World” series, “Rocketman”), Isabel Gravitt (“The Watcher”) and Levi Miller (“Streamline”). Bianca “b” Norwood and Jackson Kelly have also been cast as series regulars in the pilot for “Witch Mountain.” Norwood is known for his work on the series “We Crashed”, while Kelly has appeared on the show “Straight Man”.

This pilot is expected to be a modern retelling of the popular Disney series. The series follows two teenagers who discover they have strange abilities and realize that their seemingly idyllic suburban neighborhood is not what it seems.

Deadline states that “Gravitt’s Tia is a straight-A student who is viewed by her classmates as ‘perfect,’ even though she sees herself as flawed. She is terrified of failure and is plagued by nightmares and fears that her her late father’s schizophrenia begins to set in. Tia has “hallucinations” in which people around her step outside their living bodies and express their deepest, darkest fears and desires and rages.

Miller plays Ben, a troubled teenager who makes ends meet by writing papers for other students, but he has a hot temper and if he hits another student, he gets expelled. Ben is best friends with Corey, his colleague at the diner. He has recently made a disturbing discovery about himself, he can force others around him to move according to his will, and it is something that inexplicably draws him in Tia’s direction.

Howard stars as Audrey, Tia’s (Gravitt) devoted and loving mother. Her husband died of a mental illness, and she tries to reassure a nervous Tia that she shows no signs of following her father’s dark spiral. A warm mama bear type, but like everyone in this town, not everything is as it seems.

Norwood portrays Corey, Ben’s closest friend, an outsider with tattoos, Corey is a very mature teenager who appears older than they are. They are one step away from expulsion and put more emphasis on looking like a My Chemical Romance song turned anime fan. Corey works at the local diner with Ben and is in his circle of trust, but doesn’t appreciate it when he tries to act as their protector.

Kelly is Peter, Tia’s closest male friend. Peter is lovesick when it comes to Tia, but she is oblivious to his charm, and equally oblivious to his devotion. But when Tia expresses her concerns about the seemingly impossible events around them, she learns that Peter’s observant, cautious nature can be an asset in unraveling the mystery around them.”

According to Variety, Travis Fickett and Terry Matalas wrote the pilot for Witch Mountain and serve as executive producers on the project. Augustine Frizzell will also serve as an executive producer and will direct the pilot. John Fox, John Davis of Davis Entertainment and Gary Marsh will also executive produce the series, which is produced by ABC Signature and Disney Branded Television.

“Witch Mountain” marks the latest collaboration between Disney and Bryce Dallas Howard, who previously directed episodes of the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” and starred in Disney films such as the live-action “Pete’s “. Dragon.” Howard is also attached to direct a reboot of “Flight of the Navigator” for Disney+, which would be her first time directing a feature film.

The first “Witch Mountain” movie was “Escape to Witch Mountain” in 1975 in theaters. The film starred Eddie Albert, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence, Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann. A 1978 sequel, “Return to Witch Mountain,” saw the return of Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann and also starred Bette Davis and Christopher Lee. “Beyond Witch Mountain” (1982) was a made-for-TV movie with Eddie Albert returning, but not Richards or Eisenmann. A reboot of “Escape to Witch Mountain” in 1995 saw Elisabeth Moss and Robert Vaughn starring in this ABC TV release. The last theatrical release was in 2009 with “Race to Witch Mountain” starring Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino and Tom Everett Scott.

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Source: Deadline