As someone who's been a fan of the Skulduggery Pleasant series for years, this is just my personal opinion.
If the books ever get an adaptation, I'd honestly prefer it to be animated rather than live-action. Something with a high quality style like Arcane or a comic book-inspired aesthetic. I just think that style would suit the world Derek Landy created far better.
One of the biggest reasons is that animation removes many of the problems that come with live-action adaptations. Actors grow older, appearances change, and it's almost impossible to find someone who perfectly matches how readers have imagined a character for years. In Skulduggery Pleasant, many characters don't visibly age, and the series is packed with fast-paced, over-the-top magical combat that would feel much more natural in animation.
The books also become increasingly cinematic as they go on. There are huge magical battles, monsters, impossible locations, and characters performing feats that would either require enormous CGI budgets or end up being toned down. Animation allows creators to fully embrace those moments without worrying about practical limitations.
I always think about Harry Potter. I absolutely love the films—I own the complete limited edition DVD box set and have watched them countless times. But after reading the books, I realised something. The films are fantastic, but they still had to change characters, remove scenes, and simplify parts of the story because of runtime, budget, and the realities of making live-action films. That's completely understandable, but it also proves a point: no adaptation can include everything.
That's why I think Skulduggery Pleasant would benefit from being an animated series instead of a movie. A television series would have the time to include fan-favourite moments, character development, and storylines that would almost certainly be cut from a two-hour film.
I also remember hearing that one of the early adaptation attempts completely changed what made the series special it was even pitched as a musical at one point. That just didn't capture the tone or identity of the books at all.
In the end, this is only my opinion. Live action can absolutely work for some stories, but for Skulduggery Pleasant, I genuinely believe animation would preserve the humour, action, dark atmosphere, and incredible magic far better. It would let the world be as imaginative and visually spectacular as it is in the books, without compromising because of budget, casting, or technical limitations.
As the saying goes: "You can never beat a classic." The books will always be the original and, for me, they'll always be the definitive version. An animated series simply feels like the best way to honour them.
