Goosebumps is returning to Disney+ with a second season, but the studio fumbled its release date by missing a perfect chance. There are a couple of titles that have become synonymous with the Halloween season and thus must-watch classics, and one of them is Goosebumps. The book series by R. L. Stine has spawned a multimedia franchise, covering TV shows, audiobooks, video games, comic books, movies, and more. After Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween didn’t perform as expected, the franchise came back to life with a new TV show, now on Disney+.
Instead of repeating the episodic anthology format of the 1995 TV adaptation, Disney+’s Goosebumps TV series opted for a serialized anthology style, meaning the storyline changes from season to season. Season 1 of Goosebumps followed a group of high schoolers who go on a twisted journey to investigate the death of a teen from three decades earlier. Goosebumps’ darker and more serious tone gained the praise of critics and the show was renewed for a second season – however, Disney just missed the perfect release date for it.
Disney Missed Releasing Goosebumps Season 2 For The Halloween Season
Disney Left A Void This Halloween Season
The current Goosebumps TV adaptation premiered on Disney+ and Hulu on October 13, 2023, as part of their Hallowstream and Huluween events. Goosebumps skipped a binge-watch release style and, instead, released new episodes every week, ending on November 17. Goosebumps season 1 was a hit, and it was renewed for a second season in February 2024. As explained above, each season of Goosebumps is intended to tell a new story with new characters, so season 2 will introduce a new cast.
The second season of
Goosebumps
has been titled
Goosebumps: The Vanishing
.
Disney presented the first teaser for Goosebumps season 2 and confirmed that it will be released on January 10, 2025. Season 2 consists of eight episodes, and contrary to the weekly release model the first season followed, all episodes of The Vanishing will be released at once. Starring in Goosebumps season 2 is David Schwimmer as Anthony, a former botany professor and the divorced dad of twins Devin (Sam McCarthy) and Cece (Jayden Bartels). Devin and Cece spend the summer in Gravesand, Brooklyn, with their dad, where a threat has been stirring.
The twins quickly realize there are dark secrets and forces among them, triggering a chain of events that unravel a mystery. The twins and their friends Alex, CJ, and Frankie will then find themselves entangled in the tale of four teenagers who mysteriously vanished in 1994. Unfortunately, Goosebumps won’t return in time for Halloween 2024, instead bringing a dose of spooky season to January 2025.
Why Disney Is Releasing Goosebumps Season 2 In January 2025
Goosebumps Season 2 Couldn’t Be Released Earlier
As mentioned above, Goosebumps was renewed for a second season in February 2024, so there wouldn’t have been a chance for it to be released during the Halloween season. The cast of Goosebumps season 2 was announced in March 2024, and it most likely entered production that same month (or shortly after).
With a new cast and a new story, it’s understandable that Goosebumps season 2 would take longer in pre-production and production, so it wasn’t going to make it on time for Halloween. Goosebumps season 2 might feel out of season in January, but it won’t matter if its story is as engaging and entertaining as that of the first season.
R. L. Stine’s horror book series receives its second television adaptation with the 2023 Disney+ series Goosebumps. The new series brings in the creative minds behind the first two Goosebumps films and centers on five teenagers who haphazardly unleash evil supernatural forces on their town. As they attempt to send them back to where they came from, they learn that their parents harbor similar secrets from their younger days.
- Release Date
- October 13, 2023
- Cast
- Justin Long , Ana Yi Puig , Miles McKenna , Will Price , Zack Morris , Isa Briones , Rachael Harris , Rob Huebel , Ana Ortiz
- Showrunner
- Kevin Murphy
- Creator(s)
- Rob Letterman , Nicholas Stoller