Disney Continues Looking Close to Home for Its Next Generation of Original Stories With “Spaceship Earth”

As Disney continues expanding its streaming lineup, the company is increasingly finding inspiration in a place that has always been part of its identity—its own history.

From beloved attractions and parks to legacy brands and experiences that generations have grown up with, Disney has been steadily reimagining pieces of its own universe into new stories. While franchises continue to dominate, the company is also showing a greater willingness to transform original Disney concepts into fresh adventures for today’s audiences.

The latest example comes from EPCOT.

Disney+ has officially ordered a pilot for Spaceship Earth, a new live-action series inspired by the iconic EPCOT attraction that has stood at the heart of the Florida theme park since its opening in 1982.

Rather than directly adapting the educational attraction itself, the series takes its own approach to the concept. The story follows a group of teenagers from Earth’s past and future who must work together after a mission to prevent a global catastrophe goes terribly wrong, forcing them to confront a threat that stretches across time itself.

The project is being developed by Jason Fuchs, who will serve as showrunner and executive producer, alongside Michael Waldron, best known for Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Lee Toland Krieger is attached to direct the pilot and executive produce, with 20th Television producing the series.

While Disney has found blockbuster success adapting attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and has continued exploring projects inspired by Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise, Spaceship Earth represents another evolution of that strategy. Rather than recreating an attraction beat-for-beat, Disney appears to be using one of its most recognizable park icons as the creative foundation for an entirely original story.

It’s a direction that also aligns with Disney+’s broader programming strategy. Alongside familiar franchises, the streamer has recently expanded its development slate with projects ranging from a revival of The Mickey Mouse Club to adaptations of The Last Kids on Earth, Aquamarine and Afterlife with Archie.

With Spaceship Earth, Disney is once again demonstrating that some of its biggest storytelling opportunities may already exist within the worlds it has spent decades building—finding new ways to transform familiar pieces of Disney history into adventures for an entirely new generation.