Mark Hamill’s popular post-apocalyptic children’s series is making the jump from animation to live-action. The project shifts from its original streaming home, Netflix, to rival Disney+, bringing a new creative team on board.
The Last Kids on Earth getting a live-action Disney+ adaptation
Disney+ ordered a live-action pilot on Tuesday for The Last Kids on Earth, Max Brallier’s blockbuster illustrated novel series that previously spawned an Emmy-winning animated run on Netflix (via TheWrap). The move is a big reinvention for the post-apocalyptic adventure, trading hand-drawn chaos for flesh-and-blood monster mayhem.
Chad Fiveash and James Stoteraux have signed on to write, executive produce, and run the Disney+ series. The pair built their reputations on brooding genre fare, having steered episodes of The Vampire Diaries, Batwoman and Gotham Knights. Kevin Tancharoen, fresh off directing stints for The Book of Boba Fett and The Brothers Sun, will direct the pilot and share executive producer duties.
The Last Kids on Earth Book 1’s Penguin synopsis reads: “Ever since the monster apocalypse hit town, average thirteen year old Jack Sullivan has been living in his tree house, which he’s armed to the teeth with catapults and a moat, not to mention video games and an endless supply of Oreos and Mountain Dew scavenged from abandoned stores. But Jack alone is no match for the hordes of Zombies and Winged Wretches and Vine Thingies, and especially not for the eerily intelligent monster known only as Blarg.”
Brallier stays attached as a non-writing executive producer. Hillary Zwick Turner, Jennifer Twiner McCarron, and Matt Hornburg round out the producing team, with Hornburg representing Blue Ant Studios. Disney+ has not yet revealed any casting decisions.
Netflix had launched an animated adaptation in 2019 that aired across three seasons and assembled a vocal cast that included Mark Hamill, Rosario Dawson, Catherine O’Hara, Keith David, Bruce Campbell and more. Brallier executive-produced that version himself, guiding its distinct visual style and comedic rhythm.
Now the franchise resets under a completely different banner.
