A new live-action Casper series is in development at Peacock. The potential series about the friendly ghost hails from writer and executive producer Kai Yu Wu, with UCP and DreamWorks Animation set to co-produce.
The series is described as a horror/adventure show that reimagines the origin of Casper in a coming-of-age story that explores what it means to be alive. When a new family arrives in the small town of Eternal Falls, Casper finds himself entangled in a mystery uncovering dark secrets that have been buried for over 100 years.
Wu has previously written for shows such as Hannibal at NBC as well as The Flash at CW and Deception at ABC. Most recently, she created the Netflix series The Ghost Bride.
The character of Casper was first introduced in a series of short animated films beginning in the 1940s and the Harvey Comics series that bore his name. The character has also been at the center of multiple television shows, most recently Casper’s Scare School for Canadian network YTV from 2009-2012.
The first Casper live-action film was released in 1995, with Malachi Pearson voicing the character as a ghost and being played by Devon Sawa in human form. Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty, and Eric Idle also starred. It proved to be a box office success, grossing over $287 million worldwide against a reported budget of $55 million. After that, the live-action films Casper: A Spirited Beginning and Casper Meets Wendy were released. The animated films Casper’s Haunted Christmas and Casper’s Scare School were released in 2000 and 2006 respectively.
