Disney’s Live-Action ‘Gargoyles’ Series Is Officially Dead, According to Its Original Creator

Beloved animated franchises have a long, complicated history of being announced for live-action revivals, generating years of fan anticipation, and then quietly disappearing from a studio’s slate without much explanation. That pattern has played out repeatedly across the streaming era, leaving fans of certain cult favorites perpetually stuck between hope and disappointment.

That familiar cycle just reached its unfortunate conclusion for one particular ’90s cult classic, delivered directly by the person who knows the property better than anyone else.

Greg Weisman says the live-action “Gargoyles” series is no longer moving forward at Disney+. During a Fan Expo Canada panel, the original animated series creator confirmed the project, previously in development at James Wan and Michael Clear’s Atomic Monster with Gary Dauberman attached as writer, showrunner, and executive producer, has officially fallen apart, telling fans “that one’s not happening” and that he wasn’t aware of any other plans currently in play.

The original “Gargoyles” animated series ran for three seasons from 1994 to 1997, following a clan of nocturnal stone creatures who awaken in modern-day New York City after centuries frozen atop a Scottish castle. According to What’s On Disney Plus, the live-action adaptation would have followed a similar premise, with billionaire David Xanatos purchasing the castle and relocating it to New York, inadvertently reawakening Goliath and his fellow gargoyles when the building comes under attack.

This latest confirmation caps off years of stop-and-start development for the live-action series, which was first announced back in 2023 with Dauberman, known for his work on “The Conjuring” franchise’s “Annabelle” and “The Nun” films, set to write and showrun the project. According to ComicBook.com, Weisman also spoke with Comics Online about the cancellation, explaining more bluntly, “Well, I know the live-action side of it is, uh, the Atomic Monster had the license to develop a live-action Gargoyles for Disney+, and that’s dead. I have no idea about animation, but there are no current plans for live-action.”

This isn’t the only Disney+ project to fall through recently, either. ComicBook.com noted that “Gargoyles” joins the recently canceled “Power Rangers” reboot as another casualty of what appears to be a broader shift in priorities at the streaming service, following other high-profile cancellations like “Wonder Man” Season 2 and a noticeably lighter slate of new shows announced during this year’s D23 event.

Despite the live-action cancellation, there may still be a silver lining for longtime fans. According to a recent Threads post referencing comments from original cast member Brent Spiner, Disney has reportedly greenlit a new animated “Gargoyles” series separate from the failed live-action project, though nothing has been officially confirmed by the studio itself. Weisman has previously spoken warmly about his continued attachment to the franchise, telling Polygon that “Gargoyles is still my baby,” and describing having “a timeline for the show that’s 315 pages long,” along with notebooks full of ideas he’s hoped to eventually bring to life.

Given how many false starts this franchise has endured over the decades, including a scrapped live-action movie screenplay Weisman himself co-wrote back in the 90s, fans have learned to temper their expectations. Still, with animation potentially picking up where live-action left off, there’s at least some reason for cautious optimism that Goliath and his clan haven’t seen their last chance at a proper comeback.

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