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M. Night Shyamalan is directing a live-action scripted Magic 8 Ball series written by Brad Falchuk, the Sixth Sense director and Mattel, the toy maker that manufactures the Magic 8 Ball, announced on Monday.
Shyamalan and Falchuk will showrun the series together, though Falchuk will write and Shyamalan will not. The pair “aim to reimagine the classic Magic 8 Ball as the centerpiece of a high-concept, character-driven supernatural drama that blends psychological intensity with cultural intrigue,” according to Mattel.
“Been working on this for a couple years… Who’s in?” Shyamalan captioned his half of the Instagram announcement. Shyamalan hash-tagged “It Is Certain,” a nod to one of the toy’s answers.
Per pilot’s script cover as posted by Shyamalan, the series appears to be titled (or at least tentatively titled) Magic 8 Ball.
Falchuk is the co-creator of Glee, the 9-1-1 shows and the American Horror Story universe, among other projects. Shyamalan’s most recent film was 2024’s Trap.
Magic 8 Ball, which has been around for 75 years, still sells more than one million units each year, per Mattel. Basically, you ask the oversized billiards ball a yes or no question, shake it up, and (maybe) get an answer through a viewing window. Probably the only way to properly adapt that into scripted content is through the supernatural genre; Shyamalan and Falchuk feel like a dream team in that arena. Think of Magic 8 Ball as Mattel’s Ouija board. The Ouija brand is owned by Mattel rival Hasbro; it has already been adapted into numerous films, including a 2014 movie starring Olivia Cookie.
Mattel is doing a lot of this toy-to-screen adaptation. The Barbie movie in was a gigantic smash in 2023; additional Mattel IP includes Hot Wheels, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, UNO, Masters of the Universe, Matchbox, Monster High, Polly Pocket and Barney. Several of those brands already have television or film adaptations in the works.
See Shyamalan’s Magic 8 Ball Instagram post here:
