Justin Long (Barbarian) has signed on to star in Disney+’s Goosebumps series, which starts production this month, Variety has learned.
Based on 5 of the most popular books from R.L. Stine, the series will follow a group of five high schoolers who unleash supernatural forces upon their town and must all work together — thanks to and in spite of their friendships, rivalries, and pasts with each other — in order to save it, learning much about their own parents’ teenage secrets in the process.
Justin Long will play Nathan Bratt, said to be the new schoolteacher who develops a terrifying connection to a decades-old supernatural murder.
Goosebumps is set to begin filming later this month in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Filming is expected to continue through early next year. The shoot could give the studio enough time to complete the series and set a release for late 2023. Disney+ has yet to confirm an official release.
Nick Stoller and Rob Letterman, who directed the Jack Black-led Goosebumps movie, return to the spooky franchise as writers and producers. Letterman is already set to direct the pilot, though, we hear he is directing multiple episodes. Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty of Original Film, Conor Welch of Stoller Global Solutions, Iole Lucchese, and Caitlin Friedman of Scholastic Entertainment are also executive producing. Sony Pictures Television Studios will produce. Original Film and Stoller Global Solutions are currently under TV overall deals with Sony.
Disney+ is no stranger to worlds created by R.L. Stein. In 2021, the streamer debuted the 8-episode series Just Beyond, from director Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) and starred Mckenna Grace (Captain Marvel), Tim Heidecker (Us), Lexi Underwood Christine Ko (Tigertail), Riki Lindhome (Knives Out), Henry Thomas (The Haunting of Hill House), and guest starring Nasim Pedrad (Aladdin). Just Beyond is streaming on Disney+ now.
