A Fan-Favorite Christina Ricci Movie Is Getting A Much Darker Remake Series

Not a lot of child stars grow up to have successful careers, but Christina Ricci is a great exception.

By Faith McKay | Published

Christina Ricci

It’s been a long time since Christina Ricci made Casper a hit. The 1995 movie is a fan favorite for many adults today who grew up alongside Kat as she explored her new haunted house and made friends with a CGI ghost. The family-friendly movie was a box office hit and one of the best iterations of the friendly ghost to date. Now, Peacock is working on developing a new television series for Casper, with a very different take. So far, Deadline reports that the series will be much darker in format. The brand new Casper show will have elements of horror, be done in live-action, and the outlet hears that they will be using CGI to create their ghost, similar to how it was done in Christina Ricci’s movie. It’s unclear if Casper will still be a “friendly” ghost in the new horror series.

The new show is being compared to Riverdale. The CW series Riverdale is based on work from Archie Comics. While the comics are light and family-friendly, Riverdale is a coming-of-age story with a lot of dark elements thrown in. This is the same approach, and presumably tone, that they are planning for the new Peacock series. While Casper was around ten years old when he died in the Christina Ricci movie, the new series is said to be set in high school. It’s unknown if that means Casper himself will be a ghost attending high school, or if he’ll be hanging out with high school aged human characters. For now, the new series is still in the early stages. We’ll be watching to see how it comes along.

casper christina ricci

In 1995, audiences had the delightful experience of watching Casper the friendly ghost introduce himself to Christina Ricci and her fictional father, Bill Pullman. The movie was a box office success and became a fan favorite for many, especially those who were kids when they watched it the first time around. Many expected the movie to earn a sequel. In fact, Simon Wells co-wrote a script for one, but Christina Ricci was reportedly hesitant to return, and sales for the direct-to-video movies were poor, so the sequel was canceled in 2000.

Avoiding the sequel didn’t seem to hurt the actress’s career any. Not a lot of child stars grow up to have successful careers, but Christina Ricci is a great exception. She has never appeared to stop working. Recently, audiences saw her in the new hit series Yellowjackets. The series turned out to be a surprising hit with fans, who have reviewed it highly, and the show already has a second season ordered. Christina Ricci plays one of the more violent characters on the series, and proves that she can still be absolutely terrifying with a smile on her face, something we saw from her back in The Addams Family when she played a young Wednesday Addams.

Today, Tim Burton is working on a Wednesday series for Netflix. While Jenna Ortega is set to play the young character, it’s been confirmed that Christina Ricci will have a role in the series. While many fans were hoping she would be Morticia, that role has already gone to Catherine Zeta-Jones. It’s been said that Ricci won’t be an Addams herself. Her role won’t be announced prior to the show hitting Netflix, so as to surprise fans. Hopefully, the new project will be another hit for her fans to enjoy.