The 2000s was filled with all kinds of original Disney Channel content like Totally Spies and Martin Mystery, but one series that managed to be a hit was the French-animated W.I.T.C.H. series which was based on an Italian comic of the same name.
Trey Callaway had been a consulting producer on the original series, and in a recent interview with Radical Retro Rewind, he confirms that there have been meetings at Disney to develop a live-action version of the series. Callaway explains:
“A dear writer friend of mine… has been a part of a series of meetings happening at Disney right now about a live-action reboot of that series.”
Callaway didn’t go into any specifics on the status of the meetings, but he does say that Disney is looking to revisit properties which have extensive world-building that allow for multiple stories to be created–and WITCH definitely fits into that category.
For context, WITCH was a series originally created by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, and Barbara Canepa. The comic followed five teens —Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin—who are granted elemental powers and given the responsibility to protect the realm of Kandrakar, the center of the Universe.
The comic ran from 2001 to 2012, and the animated series managed to adapt 26 episodes and ran from 2004-2006. The series may not have gotten the same highs as some other Disney properties, but it was pretty huge for its time, and it definitely still has a cult following.
As a fan of the comic, I’d rather they just reboot the animated series, but there’s definitely a lot of room there for a fantasy teen drama. Let’s just hope it fairs better than Netflix’s stab at a live-action Winx adaptation.
A live-action W.I.T.C.H. series has not been officially announced.
