Disney has signed a “substantial seven figure” deal for Impossible Creatures, a best-selling British fantasy series featuring fantastical beasts that the publishing world has dubbed as the next Harry Potter.
Written by Katherine Rundell, two novels in the Impossible Creatures series have been released so far — each of which earned rare multi-million pound book deals ahead of publication. At least three more novels in the series are planned.
According to Deadline, Disney secured the rights to Impossible Creatures in a bidding war with Netflix and Warner Bros., the latter of whom is already busy re-adapting Harry Potter into an ambitious, decade-long HBO TV series.
Impossible Creatures follows the adventures of a young boy who discovers a magical world after travelling in the Scottish Highlands. Instead of Hogwarts, however, young Christopher finds the world of Gilmouria Archipelago, and a girl named Mal. Together, they bond over a shared desire to look after the Archipegalo’s creatures, who are struggling to survive as the world’s magic seeps away.
“When I read Impossible Creatures, I knew it belonged here at Disney,” said Disney boss Bob Iger, in a statement celebrating the deal. “I was immediately drawn into the vibrant world Katherine imagined and the possibilities of what we could do together with this story. Written by Katherine herself, these movies are in the best of hands with our Walt Disney Studios team, and I can’t wait to see this tale brought to the screen.”
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be linking arms with Disney,” Rundell said. “It’s a privilege to be writing these screenplays and developing these first movies in the franchise together with Charles [Collier, Rundell’s creative partner], my team at Impossible Films, and with the exceptional team at Disney. I’m especially grateful to Bob Iger, whose enthusiasm after reading the book helped set this collaboration in motion.”
Last month, Legendary Pictures reportedly paid more than $3 million to acquire the movie rights to upcoming dark fantasy book Alchemised — a novel which began life as Harry Potter fanfiction, centered on a secret romantic relationship between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger.
Photo by Simone Padovani/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
