The Spiderwick Chronicles Authors Talk Differences Between Show & Movie And Updating Books For Modern Audiences

Summary Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi were thrilled to get to collaborate with Aron Eli Coleite for The Spiderwick Chronicles show adaptation.

The authors confirmed that there have been some changes made from the source material, but were all made in respect to their themes in the books and for updating it for a modern audience.

Black & DiTerlizzi don't know much about the shift from Disney+ to The Roku Channel, but are hopeful it leads to a season 2 renewal.

Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's beloved fantasy novel series is finding new life on screen with The Spiderwick Chronicles show. First published in 2003, the source franchise includes five mainline books telling the adventures of the Grace children, descendants of the eponymous mythical creature expert who discover his field guide to the magical world, though quickly find they must protect it from falling into the hands of the villainous ogre, Mulgarath. The franchise would continue with seven subsequent books.

The Spiderwick Chronicles show marks the second time the books have been adapted for the screen, having previously found life with the 2008 movie led by Freddie Highmore in the dual role of Grace twins, Jared and Simon. The movie, helmed by original Mean Girls and Lindsay Lohan's Freaky Friday director Mark Waters, garnered generally positive reviews from critics and was a modest box office success, bringing in over $164 million against its $90 million production budget.

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The new take on The Spiderwick Chronicles hails from Aron Eli Coleite, best known for having co-created the Netflix apocalyptic comedy Daybreak and co-developing the streamer's adaptation of Locke & Key. Black and DiTerlizzi are also onboard as executive producers and creative consultants for the show, which features an ensemble cast including Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell, Mychala Lee, Jack Dylan Grazer, Joy Bryant, Christian Slater and Alyvia Alyn Lind. Initially planned as a Disney+ release, the show was picked up by The Roku Channel after it was dropped by the other streamer.

In honor of the show's premiere, Screen Rant interviewed authors Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi to discuss The Spiderwick Chronicles, the differences in the approach to adapting the books from the movie, updating the story and characters for modern audiences, and why they had so much faith in Coleite to adapt their works.

Black & DiTerlizzi Were Thrilled For The Show To "Open Things Up" That The Movie Couldn't

With eight 45-minute episodes in comparison to a 95-minute-long movie, The Spiderwick Chronicles show allowed Coleite more time to expand upon the source material where the film "compresses". For Black and DiTerlizzi, this was an exciting opportunity to better flesh out the characters at the heart of the story, namely the Grace family:

Holly Black: Well, obviously, television by its very nature opens things up in a way that a film compresses. So, it was really great to get to spend more time with these characters, specifically the villain. We get to see what Mulgarath is up to, what his scheme is. We get to see what his inner conflict is, and that's really, really fun. And we get to spend more time with Simon and Mallory, and really build out their conflicts. We get to spend time with their mom, and all of that stuff, I think, feels really great. And I think we get to dive even more deeply into Jared, and his conflict, and his anger, and how he's processing it.

Tony DiTerlizzi: And beautifully performed by Lyon Daniels. The kids do such a great job. I feel like they carry the whole series, and that was that was so exciting for us.

Black & DiTerlizzi's First Meeting With Coleite Perfectly Cemented His Getting The Job

Though already having experience with YA-leaning adaptations in Locke & Key, Coleite made the ultimate impression on DiTerlizzi and Black in their first meeting for the show with two books in his library, one of which served as a major inspiration for the Spiderwick Chronicles authors, so much so they hired its illustrator for their books:

Tony DiTerlizzi: Well, Grant, when we first met with Aron, he held up a copy of a book that was a huge inspiration for us, which was a book called Faeries, which came out in the '70s, and it was illustrated by Brian Froud — who would go on to create the creatures for The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth — and Alan Lee, who worked on a little known trilogy called Lord of the Rings. So, this was a huge influence for us, and then the other book he held up was the Dungeons and Dragons monster manual. So we're like, "You got the job, dude, you totally get it." [Chuckles] But I think there were real conversations about the books were published 20 years ago, and how do we make the books reach a modern day audience? And what kind of stories can we tell, how can we retain the spirit of the characters? I think that's very important to Holly and I, which he does expertly. The themes of the book, which is about Jared's anger because of the divorce, and how he sees his anger echoed and paralleled in Mulgarath and, to a lesser extent, Thimbletack. And then, of course, the folklore. Can you maintain the folklore? The folklore needs to be true from folklore that's centuries old? How do we honor that original European folklore that Holly and I tap so much for the books? Check, check, check. So, I think that's what's exciting for us is to take a story that's this old and see what a new iteration looks like.

The Authors Had "A Lot Of Ongoing Conversations" About Certain Changes Made From The Books

While Coleite was dedicated to staying true to the source material, Black and DiTerlizzi did confirm that the Spiderwick Chronicles show ultimately takes some deviations from the books. Unlike many adaptations, however, the authors were closely involved in those conversations with the showrunner to find the right middle ground for both longtime fans and newcomers to the franchise:

Tony DiTerlizzi: So, there was a lot of ongoing conversation, especially early on when he was putting the writers room together, and they were kind of getting started. Because once they got started, Holly and I were there for the first couple of weeks, and then off they went. I think he loved the idea — we were in one meeting, and Holly said, "This is an American fairytale. This is not a British fairy tale, we want it to feel very steeped in Americana, and in America." So, he kind of came back and said, "Well, why don't we put it in middle America instead of New England?" And we had a long talk about it, and we thought, "That's awesome. That sounds great", the way he pitched it. That was a big conversation. I think the addition of more human characters, like the fetch, Holly, that we came up with for him, played by Alyvia.

Holly Black: Yeah, absolutely. I think also the way he was approaching Jared's anger, vis a vis mental illness. What does it mean to have this today? How do we treat people who are struggling today.

Tony DiTerlizzi: With anger and —

Holly Black: With anger, yeah, but also in the context of mental health.

Tony DiTerlizzi: Yeah, and bear in mind, Grant, we were working on this in 2018, going into 2019, all through the pandemic. So, it's for today, it's very relevant for what teenagers are experiencing, and have experienced, in the last five years, which I love. I love that we can keep the bones of what we set out to put in the books, which was then brought to the film, and now we have a much more updated modern version for a modern day audience.

Black & DiTerlizzi Are Hopeful For Season 2 (Especially After The Jump To Roku)

With the show having been dropped by Disney+ over reported cost-cutting measures, DiTerlizzi and Black jokingly shared that The Spiderwick Chronicles' move to The Roku Channel is a question for "the adults talking", but ultimately praised that the quick acquisition was "a testament to the quality of the show". As for whether this leads to a season 2 renewal, the duo are holding out hope to see more:

Holly Black: I mean, yeah, our fingers are crossed, our toes are crossed. You can watch for free on Roku. [Laughs] Please do, tell all of your friends, and hopefully we'll be back.

Tony DiTerlizzi: That'd be amazing, yeah. [The streamer change is] one for the adults talking, Grant. [Laughs] I kind of sat and waited to see what the decision was. But it does tell you something about the quality of the production, and the writing and the performances, that one streamer's like, "Look, it's too dark for us" or "it's not necessarily for us," and Roku would come in and go, "We love it. Let's go." And it happened very quickly, and that's just, I think, a testament to the quality of the show.

About The Spiderwick Chronicles

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The Grace family moves from Brooklyn, New York, to their ancestral home in Henson, Michigan, the Spiderwick Estate. Helen makes the move with her 15-year-old fraternal twin boys, Jared and Simon, and her older daughter, Mallory. Shortly after moving to the Spiderwick Estate, Jared discovers a boggart and realizes that magical creatures are real! The only one to believe him is his great-aunt Lucinda, who implores Jared to find the pages of her father’s field guide to magical creatures and protect them from the murderous Ogre, Mulgarath.

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Stay tuned for our other Spiderwick Chronicles interviews with:

Creator/Showrunner Aron Eli Coleite (Pre-Release)

Christian Slater & Joy Bryant

Aron Eli Coleite (Post-Release Spoilers Interview)

The Spiderwick Chronicles is now streaming in full for free on The Roku Channel.

Source: Screen Rant Plus