Disney Greenlights Artemis Fowl Animated Series With Eoin Colfer Producing

Disney has greenlit an animated Artemis Fowl series for Disney Channel and Disney+, with author Eoin Colfer as an executive producer. Disney’s October 11 announcement describes a story about saving Artemis’s mother, but gives no premiere date or release window.

Colfer announced the adaptation during New York Comic Con’s “25 Years of Artemis Fowl” panel. The first novel appeared in 2001, making this year its 25th anniversary.

Who is making the animated series?

Colfer will executive produce alongside Ben Juwono and Colleen Evanson. Disney lists Juwono’s credits as including Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Big Hero 6: The Series. Evanson’s include DuckTales and Monsters at Work.

The announcement identifies all three as executive producers; it does not name a showrunner, director or animation production studio.

What is Disney’s Artemis Fowl premise?

The new series follows 13-year-old genius Artemis Fowl, who discovers an underground fairy civilization with unexpectedly advanced technology. His plan is to capture a fairy and steal its magic to heal his dying mother and save his family.

Disney’s announcement artwork, shown above, depicts Artemis in red high-tech glasses and carries both platforms’ branding. The release supplies no episode breakdown or list of characters accompanying him.

How does it compare with the 2020 film?

Disney previously adapted Artemis Fowl as a live-action film directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Ferdia Shaw as Artemis. Its April 2020 release announcement set its Disney+ debut for June 12, 2020.

That film’s official synopsis described a 12-year-old Artemis trying to rescue his kidnapped father. To pay the ransom, he needed to obtain the Aculos, a powerful magical device belonging to the fairies.

The mother and father distinction comes from Disney’s two promotional summaries. It establishes a different stated starting point, without proving how closely the animated series will follow the novels or whether either adaptation excludes other family storylines. Disney has not identified the series as a sequel to the film.

Is there a release date, cast or trailer?

The greenlight announcement names neither a voice cast nor an episode count, and includes no trailer. Disney Channel and Disney+ are the announced platforms; a premiere schedule and territory-by-territory availability remain unspecified.

Related: Disney’s Darkwing Duck revival and its announced cast.