Animorphs is finally getting a movie based on the '90s book series - CNET

A live-action Animorphs movie is being developed by Scholastic and Picturestart.

Scholastic

A live-action Animorphs movie based on the book series from the '90s is finally in the works, Picturestart revealed Thursday. It's being co-developed alongside Scholastic, which published K. A. Applegate's series.

"Animorphs has found the perfect home," Applegate tweeted.

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The Animorphs book series, which kicked off in 1996, follows five teenagers and an adolescent alien -- Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco and Ax -- who have all been given the power to morph into any animal they touch. Together, they lead Earth's fight against the secret invasion of a brain-dwelling parasite alien species called the Yeerks.

"The central themes of Animorphs have resonated strongly with kids for more than two decades," Iole Lucchese, Scholastic EVP, said in a statement. "The time is right for a feature film that takes this captivating sci-fi adventure to another level for audiences today."

There were 54 books in the main series, as well as multiple special editions like The Andalite Chronicles, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, four Megamorphs books and even two choose-your-own-adventure novels called Alternamorphs. (Obviously the best book was the one set in the time of the dinosaurs.) You can read all of them for free online right now thanks to Reddit's Animorphs community.

It's unknown at this point what books will covered in the movie.

Erik Feig, Picturestart CEO, called the series "iconic."

"These books have a deservedly deep bench of passionate fans, ourselves included," Feig added. "We hope to make Katherine Applegate and her co-author, Michael Grant, proud as we bring Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias to life for a new generation."

Animorphs, which was also adapted as a TV series of the same name in the '90s, has been lauded for its unflinchingly dark depiction of war and its aftermath in terms of both physical and mental impact. It's also been trending recently as fans recommend reading Animorphs instead of Harry Potter in the wake of backlash over JK Rowling's transgender comments.

throw out your wizard books and buy Animorphs, the series with an afterword where the author goes "oh, are you sad that this war story didn't end happily? good, you should be, no war ends happily because all war is bad"

— Paul Krueger (@NotLikeFreddy) June 7, 2020

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