According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs has been tapped to rewrite The Banshee and Fin Magee for Walt Disney Pictures. The original Fin Magee script was written by Dean DeBlois, who is working with Jacobs on the rewrite. DeBlois is attached to produce and direct the ghost tale as his live-action feature debut. DeBlois wrote and directed Disney's 2-D animated hit film Lilo & Stitch.

The supernatural mystery centers on a little boy who is ignored by the world and pretends to be a ghost until he comes into contact with a real spirit. Jacobs, who was nominated for an Academy Award for adapting 2000's Chocolat, also wrote 2001's The Shipping News and 2000's Dinosaur.