On Friday afternoon at WonderCon 2024, the cast and creators of The Spiderwick Chronicles television series (which was created for Disney+ by 20th Television and Paramount Television Studios, but sold to The Roku Channel for streaming purposes) took the stage to promote the show’s release later this month.
The presentation began with a screening of The Spiderwick Chronicles’ first episode, before the cast and creators of the series– including Christian Slater (who is playing Mulgarath), Lyon Daniels (Jared Grace), Mychala Lee (Mallory Grace), Noah Cottrell (Simon Grace), Jack Dylan Grazer (Thimbletack), Alyvia Alyn Lind (Calliope), and the authors of the book series Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. The authors talked about how the series maintains the spirit of The Spiderwick Chronicles books, but assured the audience that you do not need to have read them in order to enjoy the new show. Then actors began to talk about their first reactions to getting cast in the series, the chemistry between the cast members and shooting in Vancouver.
The very energetic Jack Dylan Grazer talked about his character of Thimbletack, while Christian Slater said he had never done anything previously in the world of magic or fantasy, seemingly forgetting about his role in the Willow Disney+ series. The actors on stage also paid tribute to the missing member of the cast, Joy Bryant (Helen Grace), who couldn’t be there that day: “She has a warmth and light about her,” said Lee. Next they discussed the production design of the sets for the series, which “really amplify the experience as an actor,” and mentioned how Alyvia Alyn Lind’s character Calliope was not in the books or the previous movie, but was created for the new series. Calliope is a harbinger doppelgänger creature called a “Fetch.”
The panel concluded with Tony DiTerlizzi presenting Christian Slater with a warmly received portrait he drew of the actor when he was in art school, and a reminder that fans can watch The Spiderwick Chronicles first season in its entirety when it's released on Friday, April 19th via The Roku Channel.
For more coverage from WonderCon 2024, check right back here at LaughingPlace.com.