Back in February 2021, it was announced that Ron Moore was developing The Society of Explorers and Adventurers for Disney+.
Background on S.E.A.
Society of Explorers and Adventurers also known as S.E.A. is an organization consisting of scientists, explorers, researchers, artists, travelers, and adventurers from around the globe. The S.E.A. storyline has been used to connect several Disney Parks attractions and experiences such as Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Discovery Bay (never built), Trader Sam’s, Phantom Manor, Tower of Terror (Tokyo), Mystic Manor, Miss Adventure Falls, Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar, and Skipper Canteen.
The Society of Explorers and Adventurers includes Disney Parks characters such as Lord Henry Mystic (Mystic Manor), Harrison Hightower III (Tower of Terror), Mary Oceaneer (Miss Adventure Falls), Barnabas T. Bullion (Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), Dr. Albert Falls (Jungle Cruise, Skipper Canteen), Jock Lindsey (Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar, also from Indiana Jones), and many others.
The subtle storyline is a favorite for Disney Parks fans and adds extra layers of backstory to the attractions/experiences.
What we know about the Disney+ series so far
Back in February 2021, Ron Moore who wrote shows such as For All Mankind and Outlander signed an overall deal with Disney. Later that month it would be revealed that Ron Moore’s first projects at Disney would be Swiss Family Robinsons and Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Both would be Disney+ original series.
Yet there was much more to this announcement. Society of Explorers and Adventurers would be Moore’s first show within the “Magic Kingdom Universe.” A world where all the themed lands and characters of the Disney parks and classic films exist in another reality.
Essentially imagine a world where Jungle Cruise skippers, ghosts of the Haunted Mansion, and other Disney Parks characters are real. The Disney Parks’ attractions are more connected than some will realize. Disney’s S.E.A. storyline connects multiple attractions and experiences. If the Society of Explorers and Adventurers is successful, Moore would oversee the entire Magic Kingdom franchise.
Walt Disney Imagineering, Maril Davis, and Ben McGinnis are helping Moore with S.E.A. as well as the larger Magic Kingdom universe if they get to that point. Ron Moore is a huge Disney Parks fan and he now has a multiyear pact with the studio, so I expect we will see some Disney Parks television projects from him in the future.
In 2022, it was reported that a Society of Explorers and Adventurers film was in development at Disney. The film would be written by Strange World filmmaker Qui Nguyen and it would be produced by Ryan Reynolds and his Maximum Effort banner. At the time of the report, the film was being eyed as a “franchise starter.” The film would be an adventure tying together the lore behind several of Disney’s most famous theme park attractions, with a modern twist. The new take on the S.E.A. mythology would pursue alternative angles in the present day by adding a new supernatural element to the history and following new characters not present in the original lore.
The film however is separate from Ron Moore’s Society of Explorers and Adventurers Disney+ series. Yet it’s quite ironic that Disney is developing two projects based on an obscure Disney Parks storyline that only Disney diehards truly know about.
In February 2024, we got an update from 20th Television President Karey Burke on Society of Explorers and Adventurers. Burke confirmed that it was still in development at Disney+ and that Moore was able to get back to work on the project after the WGA strike. Burke mentioned that they just saw a draft (script) of the show, and they “hope to be delivering that to Disney Branded Television pretty soon.”
Details have been far and few between for Society of the Explorers and Adventurers, but it seems like we will hear more about the project here soon. Maybe this will be one of the Disney+ series highlighted this summer at D23 in Anaheim. I know a ton of Disney Parks fans would love to see that Magic Kingdom Disney+ universe come to life.
Stay tuned to Boardwalk Times as you never know what we might hear regarding projects in development at Disney.
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Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
