Gargoyles' Live-Action Plot Details Tease Goliath's Mission - And A Mystery
If you were a kid in the '90s, chances are you remember "Gargoyles." Along with "Batman: The Animated Series" and "X-Men," it was one of the few kids' cartoons that had a real mood and a sense of gravitas. Focusing on a tale that began in the Middle Ages before moving to more modern times, it was the kind of series that treated kids like intelligent viewers capable of understanding nuanced storytelling and the conflicts within it.
While the beloved series has been off the air for over 25 years, it looks like "Gargoyles" is finally coming back. It was recently announced that Atomic Monster, the production company overseen by Gary Dauberman and James Wan, is doing a live-action reboot/continuation of the show for Disney+. Even better, we have an official synopsis for the upcoming series.
"Based on the cult classic Disney animated series, Goliath is the last of a heroic race of gargoyle warriors who once lived among mankind," the logline reads (via Variety). "Free from a centuries-long curse that turned him into stone, Goliath struggles to solve the mystery of his past while watching over modern-day New York City alongside police detective Elisa Maza."
It looks like it will be a much smaller cast this time around
There are a few things worth unpacking in that brief description of the new "Gargoyles" series. The first thing that fans will likely notice is that Goliath (voiced by Keith David) is the only gargoyle left, meaning that Hudson (Ed Asner), Bronx (Frank Welker), Lexington (Thom Adcox-Hernandez), and the others are all dead in the new show. Furthermore, the synopsis may also contain a hint as to how they died.
As "Gargoyles" viewers will recall, the weakness of the central characters was that they turned to stone during the day. This meant that they were vulnerable to being smashed to bits in the daytime, just like any other statue. With Goliath said to be the last of his kind and free of the curse, there certainly could be a connection between the two plot details.
Of course, there's one other thing worth noting here, and it's that Elisa Maza, who was voiced by Salli Richardson on the original show, is set to return as well. Considering that the two were arguably the core characters, it's not all that surprising. But it will be interesting to see how the New York police detective is depicted in more modern times.
There's no word on who'll be playing Goliath and Elisa in the live-action reboot. But there's one mystery fans probably want to solve regarding the new series: Will "Gargoyles" continue off from the previous mythology or will it be starting things out fresh? While our fingers are crossed for the former, we'll have to see how the series ends up shaking out.