Disney has greenlit an animated Artemis Fowl series for Disney Channel and Disney Plus, with author Eoin Colfer attached as an executive producer. The company announced the adaptation Sunday at New York Comic Con, more than two decades after Colfer’s first novel introduced the franchise.
Colfer created Artemis Fowl, which has been described as a “Die Hard with fairies” story centered on a 13-year-old genius who uncovers a hidden world of technologically advanced, heavily armed fairies. In the books, the character sets out to use fairy magic to save his dying mother and protect his family.
Disney Greenlights Artemis Fowl
The animated Artemis Fowl series will stream on Disney Plus and air on Disney Channel, according to the announcement. Colfer will executive produce alongside Ben Juwono, an Emmy and Annie Award winner whose credits include Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Big Hero 6: The Series, and Colleen Evanson, who has worked on DuckTales and Monsters at Work.
Ayo Davis, president of Disney Kids & Family, addressed the project at the announcement. “I am proud and delighted to be part of the formidable team that is putting the ‘Artemis Fowl’ animation on screen,” Davis said. “Everyone is so talented and so positive that I feel certain the fairy world is in excellent hands.”
Colfer also spoke about the adaptation. “For more than two decades, Eoin Colfer’s ‘Artemis Fowl’ books have captivated readers around the world with unforgettable characters, imaginative world-building, and gripping adventures,” he said. “Bringing this beloved franchise to life as an animated series gives us the opportunity to introduce a new generation to Artemis’ world while honoring the longtime fans who have cherished these stories for years.”
What Colfer’s Role Means For The Franchise
Colfer’s presence as executive producer ties the new series directly to the source material he has built since 2001, when the first Artemis Fowl novel was published. He has since written 11 books in the series, along with a short story and a companion book. The franchise has sold more than 35 million copies and has been translated into 48 languages, according to the announcement.
Having the creator involved in an executive producer capacity signals an effort to keep the animated series rooted in the books that built that readership, though Disney has not said which installments the show will draw from.
Background: The 2020 Live-Action Film
This is not Disney’s first attempt to adapt the franchise for the screen. The company released a live-action Artemis Fowl film directly to Disney Plus in 2020. That movie received widely negative reviews and has since been removed from the streaming service.
The animated series marks a new approach to bringing Colfer’s world to screen, this time built around a creative team with experience in Disney’s existing animated lineup rather than a single feature film.
What’s Next
Disney has not released a premiere date, episode count, casting details or information about the animation studio behind the series. The company also has not specified which books from the 11-novel series will serve as source material for the adaptation. No production timeline has been announced.
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