Disney+ has filled out the series regular roles on its “Spaceship Earth” pilot, adding Maeve Touhey, Ta’imua and Freddie O’Donahue to a young ensemble led by Catherine Laga’aia and Deacon Phillippe, Deadline reported Wednesday.
The studio is keeping character details secret. Touhey, a New York-based singer who records as Maeve, makes her acting debut. She has built an international following, earned airplay on SiriusXM Hits 1 and is preparing to release her first music project. Ta’imua, based in Hawaii, has credits on “Truth Be Told” and “Doctor Odyssey.” O’Donahue has roles lined up in “A Great Depression” next year and the thriller “Bullies Anonymous.” Laga’aia is the best-known name in the group. She plays the title role in Disney’s 2026 live-action “Moana.”
The pilot takes loose inspiration from the EPCOT ride that has anchored the Florida park since 1982, but it tells an original story. Its logline describes a mission to stop a global cataclysm that goes wrong, forcing a small band of teenagers from Earth’s past and future to unite against a threat “as vast and mysterious as time itself.” The ride, by contrast, is a slow trip through the history of human communication.
Jason Fuchs, co-showrunner of “IT: Welcome to Derry,” wrote the pilot with Michael Waldron, the “Loki” writer, and will run the show. Lee Toland Krieger, whose credits include “You” and “Riverdale,” directs. Fuchs, Waldron, Krieger, Adam Fishbach and Adam Fasullo executive produce for 20th Television.
Disney+ ordered the pilot in August. It joins a growing slate of pilot pickups at the service, including a “Mickey Mouse Club” reboot and projects based on “The Last Kids on Earth” and “Aquamarine.” Nothing guarantees a series. The service has not announced a production schedule or premiere date, and a pickup would make “Spaceship Earth” the first television show built on a Disney Parks attraction. Disney has mined its parks for films before, from “Pirates of the Caribbean” to “Haunted Mansion” and “Jungle Cruise.” This project reverses the usual approach by trading a ride’s plot for its premise.
