Disney Bets Millions on Impossible Creatures to Forge Its Next Fantasy Empire

Disney just planted a big fantasy flag. The studio grabbed Katherine Rundell's best-selling Impossible Creatures series in a seven-figure deal, and they are not shy about signaling franchise ambitions. This is the kind of play you make when you want the next big world to build movies around.

The deal, the plan, the franchise math

Rundell is writing the screenplays herself for the first two books: Impossible Creatures, which came out in 2023, and The Poisoned King, due in 2025. What started as a trilogy has grown into a five-book saga, with extra spinoffs and prequels already on the whiteboard. Across her work, Rundell has sold more than four million copies worldwide, which puts her firmly in the top tier of children's authors.

"When I read Impossible Creatures, I knew it belonged here at Disney. 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."

Rundell is clearly all-in too, saying she is thrilled to develop the series with Disney and wants to build a spectacular run of films that work for families worldwide.

Inside the bidding war (yes, there was travel involved)

Disney did not get this uncontested. Warner Bros. and Netflix were in the final mix, and the author had been courted by multiple studios for a while. The finalists were asked to fly to London and lay out their vision in person — very old-school, very 'how much do you want it?'

• Disney secured film, TV, and ancillary rights to the series
• Key Disney champions: David Greenbaum (President, Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios); Daria Cercek (President, Disney Live Action); Allison Erlikhman (SVP, Production, Disney Live Action); Clare Reeth (Head of Literary Affairs)
• Rundell also signed a first-look deal at Disney covering her current and future projects

The subtext here is not subtle: Disney is still betting big on tentpole fantasy and on locking down strong literary IP. Having the author write the scripts gives them built-in fidelity to the source and a cleaner path to expanding the world onscreen.

So what is Impossible Creatures?

The series is set in the Glimouria Archipelago — a lush, secret world where humans live alongside hypnotic, hybridized animals. Quick note: you may see the name spelled a couple of different ways in early reporting; Glimouria is the spelling used here.

Our entry point is Christopher, a human kid on holiday in the Scottish Highlands with his grandfather. He stumbles into a hidden gateway to Glimouria, meets Mal, and the two of them get pulled into trying to save the realm's fantastic beasts as the magic that sustains them begins to fail. The creatures — mash-ups of land and sea, wing and fin — are not just set dressing. They function as metaphors for identity, transformation, and the line between creation and control, while the story digs into belonging and the push-pull between nature and empire.

What this likely means on screen

Expect Disney to go heavy on worldbuilding — ecosystems, creature design, and the broader map of the archipelago — with Rundell guiding the expansion so it feels authored rather than committee-built. No dates or filmmakers yet, but the foundation is clearly being poured for a multi-film play.