You might have forgotten about Holes, but Disney certainly hasn’t, as it’s just ordered a TV series adaptation for its streaming service.
Once upon a time, Shia LaBeouf wasn’t the mess of a human he is now, and was instead a boisterous young actor appearing in stuff like Even Stevens and, as not everyone might remember, Holes! The 2003 film based on the 1998 book of the same name is one generally looked fondly upon by those that do remember it, with Walt Disney Pictures producing it back in the day. Always one to exploit any IP it has under its belt, the house of mouse is once again adapting the novel (via Variety), this time as a TV show set to air on Disney Plus.
There is one key difference with this adaptation though, the logline explaining, “In this reimagining of the beloved 1998 book from Louis Sachar, a teenage girl is sent to a detention camp where the ruthless Warden forces the campers to dig holes for a mysterious purpose.” The teenage girl in question is likely the character of Stanley Yelnats, played by LaBeouf in the film, so there’s been a bit of a genderswap with the character seemingly.
Alina Mankin is serving is writer on the project, executive producing the series is Drew Goddard through Goddard Textiles along with Sarah Esberg. You’ll best know Goddard as the writer behind films like Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods, and World War Z, though in more recent years he also created the Netflix Daredevil series, and executive produced The Good Place, that last one making his involvement in Holes make a bit more sense.
In an interview with Variety, Goddard said, “My mom’s been a schoolteacher for her whole life and, as such, she’s served as a de facto book scout for Goddard Textiles. She always knows what ‘the kids’ are into long before everyone else does. ‘Holes’ was the first book she suggested to me – this was back in the late ‘90s – and she was positive it was going to be a phenomenon. It feels good to bring it full circle for Mrs. Goddard and her sixth grade class.”
Right now it’s just a pilot in the works, and there’s no word on a shoot date, so you’ll probably have to wait a while until this one releases, if it gets picked up for a full series at all.