Goosebumps is one of the most popular children's book series ever, and it'll now it'll be adapted into a series for Disney+. Not much is known about the series so far, but it'll be serialized as opposed to the anthology format of the books and the beloved TV show of the 90s. However, each episode could still be based on a different book, just with the same recurring characters.
Fans have jumped at the chance to debate which books should be adapted for the new series, and it's a mix of fan favorites and extreme deep cuts. Between the return of Slappy, Goosebumps' own fictional meta-series Shock Street, and a horror-themed amusement park, the new series has so much potential.
Monster Blood
CandidlyKaylor wants to see Monster Blood get adapted into an episode of the show, and they even have an interesting pitch. The Redditor comments, "I need Monster Blood to swallow whole the town the story takes place in, to be honest."
Monster Blood is about a can of toy slime, something that was extremely popular in the 90s, but that slime has a mind of its own, can eat anything, and will grow drastically. An episode based on the toy slime could almost be like a secret remake of The Blob, and it could probably be way more entertaining too. Though it might be a little dark given that the slime eats the main character's dog in the original novel.
Terror Tower
Marvelago thinks Terror Tower could make a great episode of the show. The Redditor asks, "How about a plot involving Terror Tower?" Terror Tower is a popular story in the Goosebumps franchise, as the titular building is the basis for two books, and it even got a board game too.
Given that the story is so popular, it's likely that the series could include the storyline. And A Night in Terror Tower and Return to Terror Tower could make for a great two-part episode. At the very least, the Lord High Executioner should have some kind of appearance in the show, as the villain has been criminally underused in recent Goosebumps releases.
Attack Of The Jack-O-Lanterns
Domohnta thinks Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns should be adapted for the series. The story follows a group of supernatural beings with pumpkins for heads and hissing voices, and they terrorize the suburbs on Halloween night. The Redditor posits, "A more faithful and drawn-out Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns with the Disney budget could become an instant classic."
It isn't totally clear what kind of budget the series will have, but it's highly doubtful that it'll have the same production cost as the likes of the Marvel or Star Wars Disney+ series. Nevertheless, Disney has never been a studio to tighten the purse strings, and if it spends money on practical sets and effects, it'd make for an especially great Halloween episode. It could even make a great two-parter with the acclaimed Halloween special Werewolf by Night.
Headless Halloween
Domohnta actually brings up two books, noting, "I'd love to see more 2000s titles (Werewolf in the Living Room, Headless Halloween...) adapted." While the peak of the Goosebumps series' popularity was in the 90s, there are several books published in the 2000s that go unfairly overlooked, including Headless Halloween.
The 2000s book is a classic ghost story, which rarely gets adapted when it comes to Goosebumps, whether it's the movies or the original TV series, so Headless Halloween would be the best candidate if the new series introduced ghosts. However, at the end of the novel, the whole house becomes sentient, which might be too reminiscent of the popular animated Halloween movie Monster House.
Horrorland
Recent_Journalist196 has an interesting pitch, suggesting that not just one episode, but the whole series should be based on a specific book. The Redditor comments, "I can't even imagine how awesome it would be if they based it all on Horrorland and kitted out a whole amusement park to match the books of description."
Horrorland is an amusement park in an unknown location in the universe. It's the basis of two Goosebumps stories, and it actually has its own spin-off series too. The Goosebumps Horrorland series is made up of 19 books that follow the characters who run the park, known as the Horrors, so there's more than enough content to make a Horrorland-specific TV series.
Night Of The Living Dummy
Slappy is one of the most popular villains in the universe, or at least the most well-known, and as a result, he's heavily featured in both of the recent movies. He's essentially Goosebumps' Joker, most fans think he's overused, and the last thing they want to see is more of him.
However, Few-Reserve-9530 would love to see Slappy back, noting, "If Kris from the first Night of the Living Dummy defeats Slappy in the finale, that would be fire." It's almost inevitable that Slappy will return in the new series given his popularity, but it'll hopefully be a closer adaptation of Night of the Living Dummy than what fans got in the films.
Stay Out Of The Basement
Deniz2323 wants to see Stay Out of the Basement, and they have some demands about how it should be adapted too. The Redditor suggests, "The tone should mirror the 90s shows' two-parter episodes because they had the best effects and writing." The user is asking a lot of Disney to make the tone of the new series as close as possible to the 1990s show, but that's exactly what fans want.
Practical sets, the theme tune, and even the iconic opening titles all elevated the source material. However, a return to this aesthetic might be possible, as Disney knows how important nostalgia is, and the studio is developing X-Men '97, which is a continuation of the animated 90s show. The studio could approach Goosebumps in the same way.
A Shocker On Shock Street
Shock Street is similar to the fictional Stab movie franchise in the Scream series, as it's a meta movie series inside the Goosebumps universe, but the worlds collide in A Shocker on Shock Street. ConnorKent5985 wants to see a better adaptation of the novel than what fans got in the original TV series, which was one of its low points.
The Redditor explains, "I'm really hoping at some point in the new series, we'll see A Shocker on Shock St adapted. While we'll probably not see THAT scene adapted, TV special effects and prosthetics have come a long way since the original." The original TV series episode based on the book had a lot of differences, and it didn't even feature the giant praying mantises, which were the main event of the novel.
Invasion Of The The Body Squeezers
JF619 would love to see the Body Squeezers appear in the series. and while it might be hard to fit aliens into the supernatural world, it has already been done once. The Body Squeezers appeared in the 2015 movie but very briefly, and they totally deserve a whole episode dedicated to them, especially as there are not one, not two, but three books in the series based on the aliens.
The Redditor explains, "Typical alien invasion stuff but I think it would be fun." Just like the best alien invasion movies, the Invasion of the Body Squeezers episode could be influenced by B-movies, and it'd be the highlight of the season.
Calling All Creeps
Sonofachaosgod is crossing their fingers for a modern adaptation of Calling All Creeps, which is about the titular reptilian monsters who blend in with real people. The Redditor posits, "I want to see the Creeps return. They’re my favorite monster from the entire franchise, and they only got reduced to crowd shots with other monsters the last time we saw them. They didn’t even get a line of dialogue."
A lot of fan-favorite Goosebumps monsters and characters were unfortunately relegated to simple reaction shots in the movies, but the upcoming show could balance the scales. And Calling All Creeps could make for one of the more lighthearted episodes.
Source:gamerant.com