Casper Live-Action Series in the Works at Peacock

A new live-action series about Casper the Friendly Ghost is in development at Peacock, Variety has learned.

The potential series 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.”

She is repped by UTA and Underground.

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 Spirted 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.

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