Disney has ordered a Glee revival for Hulu with creator Ryan Murphy on the script, bringing back the musical hit years after three original stars died under grim circumstances.
The Sun reported that Disney confirmed the revival has been ordered and will screen on Hulu, with Murphy handling the writing.
No casting list or storyline details have been released. What is clear is that the original creative team is already back at the keyboard.
Murphy told Entertainment Tonight last month that the pages were done. “Well, funny you ask, because I just finished the script an hour ago.”
"We have a script. Brad [Falchuk], Ian [Brennan] and I, who wrote all the first two seasons, have written something."
That puts the same trio that built the early seasons in charge of the reboot’s first draft. Murphy, now 60 and also known for American Horror Story, has kept the project close.
Murphy said he has reached out to roughly ten actors from the first run. Their reaction, he said, was warm.
"I’ve been in touch with around 10 of the original cast members, and it’s very sweet."
"They’ve all had a lot of questions, but they all were very enthusiastic about the idea."
The original series aired from 2009 to 2015 and turned its young leads into household names. Lea Michele played Rachel Berry. Amber Riley played Mercedes Jones. Matthew Morrison played teacher Will Schuester. Jane Lynch won an Emmy and a Golden Globe as the hard-edged coach Sue Sylvester.
None of those names have been confirmed for the Hulu version. Murphy’s outreach is the only public signal so far that the old ensemble is even in the conversation.
Any return also lands in the shadow of real losses. Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson, died in July 2013 at 31. Authorities said the cause involved mixed drug toxicity, including heroin and alcohol. His body was found in a hotel room.
Naya Rivera, who played Santana Lopez, went missing in July 2020 after swimming with her young son on a rented boat at Lake Piru, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles. Her then four-year-old son, Josey, was found asleep and alone on the boat on July 8. Rivera’s body was recovered five days later, on July 13, floating near the surface. The Ventura County Medical Examiner ruled the death an accidental drowning. She was 33.
Mark Salling, who played Noah “Puck” Puckerman, was found dead in January 2018 at 35, hanging in the woods. TMZ reported he had taken his own life weeks before he was due to be jailed for possession of 50,000 child abuse images.
Those facts are not plot points. They are the record the franchise now carries into any new season.
Disney has not announced a production start, episode order, or release window. Murphy has a finished script and early goodwill from part of the old cast. Everything else remains unannounced.
Hollywood can order a reunion in an afternoon. It cannot revise the bill already paid by the people who made the first run matter.
