Disney acquires rights to Katherine Rundell’s “Impossible Creatures” in major fantasy franchise bet
Disney has acquired rights to Katherine Rundell’s bestselling fantasy series Impossible Creatures, planning to adapt the first two books into films. Rundell will co-produce and write screenplays, while Disney aims to build a long-term family fantasy franchise around the Glimouria universe.
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After years of mixed results with live-action remakes, Disney is setting its sights on fresh fantasy storytelling. The studio has acquired theatrical and ancillary rights to British author Katherine Rundell’s acclaimed fantasy series, Impossible Creatures, Reuters reported.
Set in the richly imagined world of the Glimouria Archipelago, Impossible Creatures follows a sweeping fantasy narrative filled with mythical beings and emotional depth, a world Disney hopes to build into a long-term cinematic franchise.
Originally planned as a trilogy, the series expanded to five books earlier this year after Rundell struck two major seven-figure publishing deals with Bloomsbury and Knopf. The latest installment, The Poisoned King, became a global bestseller, making Rundell the first U.K. children’s author since J.K. Rowling to top the children’s charts in both the U.K. and U.S. simultaneously.
Under the deal, Rundell herself will adapt and co-produce the first two films with her creative partner Charles Collier, under the Disney Live Action banner. The collaboration extends beyond this project, Disney has also secured first-look rights to Rundell’s current and future literary works through her company, Impossible Films.
Disney executives see the series as a cornerstone for the studio’s next generation of family fantasy. “When I read Impossible Creatures, I knew it belonged here at Disney,” said CEO Bob Iger, calling it “a world that can inspire imagination for years to come.”
Rundell echoed that ambition, said “Our goal is to build Glimouria and Impossible Creatures into a spectacular film universe that can entertain and inspire families across the world.”
The move underscores Disney’s renewed focus on original world-building after uneven performances from live-action adaptations like Snow White and The Little Mermaid.
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