Christian Slater has found his next villain role.
The actor is slated to star in the Disney+ live-action television adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles as Mulgarath, an evil, shape-shifting ogre. Based on the series of bestselling books, The Spiderwick Chronicles follows the Grace children, who move into the abandoned Spiderwick estate with their recently divorced mother. In the house, the kids find a book written by their great-uncle that details the existence of fairies. Slater's character, Mulgarath, will go to great lengths to steal the field guide.
The series was announced on November 2021's Disney+ Day, with the streamer describing the show as a "modern coming-of-age story combined with fantasy adventure."
The series' authors Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, who wrote the original Spiderwick Chronicles books, will serve as two of the executive producers, and Kat Coiro (She-Hulk) will direct the first two episodes.
Besides a video game, the sole other The Spiderwick Chronicles adaptation was a 2008 animated fantasy film of the same name. Freddie Highmore, Seth Rogan, Martin Short and Nick Nolte lent their voices to the film, with Noite taking on the role of Mulgarath.
Slater recently came off playing Dr. Randall Kirby, a veteran vascular surgeon, in Peacock's Dr. Death. But he's most well-known for his villainous roles, including the sociopathic J.D. in the 1988 satire Heathers. He also won a Golden Globe for his work as the mysterious titular character in USA Network's Mr. Robot.
Disney+ has not yet set a release date for The Spiderwick Chronicles.