The Spiderwick Chronicles Director Reveals How She-Hulk Influenced Disney+ Series (Exclusive)

By Jamie Jirak

She-Hulk: Attorney At Law's first season came to an end last week, and six out of its nine episodes, including the finale, were helmed by Kat Coiro. Coiro has directed many shows during her career, including episodes of Girls5Eva, Dead to Me, Modern Family, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and more. She also helmed the Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson-led romantic comedy movie, Marry Me. Next, Coiro will be tackling another series for DIsney+, The Spiderwick Chronicles. Recently, ComicBook.com had the chance to talk to Coiro about She-Hulk, and the topic of her next Disney+ show came up. 

"Look, I am obsessed with [producer] Victoria Alonso, and part of what makes me so in awe of her is that as much technical expertise as she has and experience as she has in the VFX world, everything she does is still very tied to the visceral and the emotional, and being able to learn all the skills to create, you know, a heavily CGI influenced show but hold onto the heart is something that I'm bringing to Spiderwick, which has a lot of CGI and a lot of VFX, but is, um, you know, essentially a story about human beings."

What Is The Spiderwick Chronicles About?

The Spiderwick Chronicles book series, which was written by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, follows the Grace Family: twin brothers Jared and Simon, their sister Mallory, and their mother Helen as they move into their dilapidated ancestral home and begin to unravel a dark mystery about their great-great uncle who once discovered the secret of a faerie world existing parallel to their own. Parenthood and Good Girls Revolt alum Joy Bryant will star in the series as Helen alongside previously-announced cast members Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell, and Christian Slater. The show is being executive produced by Aron Eli Coleite, who is also serving as showrunner. Coiro is also producing alongside Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly Black, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg, and Julie Kane-Ritsch.

How Many Spiderwick Chronicles Books Are There?

The series consisted of five books: The Field Guide, The Seeing Stone, Lucinda's Secret, The Ironwood Tree, and The Wrath of Mulgarath. There was also a spinoff series titled Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, which included the three novels: The Nixie's Song, A Giant Problem, and The Wyrm King.

"Hol and I had received many letters from kids telling us of their experiences with faeries, and I had been making field guides to dragons and monsters since I was a kid, so we knew there was something magic there," DiTerlizzi explained in a 2008 interview with FanBolt. "And Holly knows that folklore so well. We thought it would be cool to tell a story of modern-day kids thrust into the realm of faeries."

"When Tony and I first met, one of the things we talked about was faery folklore so this was the perfect project for us to do together," Black echoed. "We love the idea that kids might take the Field Guide and go out into their backyards or parks and look for evidence of faeries. If they do, they'll probably find it."

The Spiderwick Chronicles is expected to debut on Disney+ sometime in 2023. 

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