Disney+ Announces WITCH MOUNTAIN Series and Cast Led by Bryce Dallas Howard
Disney+ has announced that they’ve ordered a pilot for a new supernatural series titled Witch Mountain, which is a reimagining of the successful film franchise. I enjoyed the earlier films in the franchise which were based on the 1968 Alexander Key novel Escape to Witch Mountain.
The new series is described as “a modern reinvention of the cult classic that takes place in the shadow of ‘Witch Mountain,’ following two teens that develop strange abilities and discover their sleepy suburb may not be as idyllic as it seems.”
Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) is set to star in the show and will take on the lead role of Audrey, “Tia's devoted and loving mother. Her husband died from a mental illness and she tries to reassure a fretful Tia that she shows no sign of following her father's dark spiral. A warm mama bear type, but like everyone in this town, not everything is as it seems.”
Howard is joined in the series by Isabel Gravitt (The Watcher), Levi Miller (Streamline), Bianca “b” Norwood (We Crashed), and Jackson Kelly (Straight Man).
Isabel Gravitt plays Tia, “a straight-A student who's regarded by her classmates as ‘perfect,’ although she regards herself as flawed. She's terrified of failure and is plagued by nightmares and fears that her late father's schizophrenia is starting to exhibit itself in her. Tia has ‘hallucinations’ in which people around her step outside their living bodies and voice their deepest, darkest fears and desires and rages.”
Levi Miller plays Ben, “a troubled teen who makes ends meet by writing papers for other students but he's got a hot temper and if he slugs another student, he'll be expelled. Ben is best friends with Corey, his co-worker at the diner. He’s recently made a troubling discovery about himself, he can force others in his vicinity to move according to his will and there's something drawing him inexplicably in the direction of Tia.”
Bianca “b” Norwood plays Corey, “Ben's closest friend, an outsider with tattoos, Corey is a very mature teen who comes across older than they are. They are one step away from expulsion and puts more care into looking like a My Chemical Romance song that became an anime fan. Corey works at the local diner alongside Ben and is in his circle of trust, but doesn't appreciate it when he tries to act as their protector.”
Jackson Kelly plays Peter, “Tia's closest male friend. Peter is lovesick on the subject of Tia, but she's unaware of his charms, and equally unaware of his devotion. But when Tia expresses her concerns about the seemingly impossible happenings around them, she learns that Peter's observant, cautious nature might be an asset in figuring out the mystery around them.”
Witch Mountain is being developed by writers and executive producers Travis Fickett and Terry Matalas, and Augustine Frizzell (Euphoria) will direct and is executive producer on the pilot.
The films in the franchise include Escape to Witch Mountain (1975), Return From Witch Mountain(1978), Beyond Witch Mountain (1982), Disney’s Escape to Witch Mountain(n (1995), and the most recent was in 2099 with Race to Witch Mountain.