Inside Disney’s $7-Figure Deal For ‘Impossible Creatures’ (AKA The Fantasy World That Could Rival Hogwarts)

Disney has purchased the rights to British author Katherine Rundell’s fantasy book series Impossible Creatures, creating a new slate for a fantasy series that’s been hailed as a potential heir to the legacy of the Harry Potter series. Rundell, who will write the scripts for the first two books, Impossible Creatures and The Poisoned King, is the first U.K. children’s author to top both the U.K. and U.S. children’s books best-seller lists since J.K. Rowling.

Impossible Creatures centers on the Gilmouria Archipelago, a secret island chain where mythological creatures have been living for centuries. The book follows Christopher, a British boy on vacation in Scotland who stumbles upon the Gilmouria, and Mal, a rebellious girl from the islands who befriends Christopher as they try to solve the mystery of why the magic on the islands is disappearing. The seven-figure acquisition, one of Disney’s largest in recent years, includes a first-look development deal on all of Rundell’s current and future properties through her and Charles Collier’s London-based production company Impossible Films. In a statement, Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, said, “Impossible Creatures is exactly the type of story that has always attracted us to Disney. From the moment I started reading, I knew it was special, and that Katherine was the right person to bring it to the screen”

Rundell was equally as enthusiastic about the deal, sharing, “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the ranks of Disney. David, Daria, and everyone at the company have made me feel incredibly welcome and I feel so lucky to be part of the team. We’re shooting for the stars with Gilmouria and we’re here to do big, big business with stories that really matter and films that can entertain and inspire family audiences across the world.” Impossible Creatures marks one of the biggest steps forward yet in Disney’s post-merger live-action evolution, suggesting that the studio is moving beyond relying on remakes of its animated classics and is interested in putting more capital behind new, author-driven films.

Since its release, Rundell’s Impossible Creatures has been a runaway success, with over 4 million copies sold and in 2024, she won both Author of the Year and Children’s Book of the Year at The British Book Award. The series, which was initially conceived as a trilogy, has since expanded to a five-book series, with spinoffs and prequels already in the works.