It’s not quite the “Gravity Falls” reboot/reunion that fans are hoping for, but it’s close: Creator Alex Hirsch will guest star on a Season 2 episode of Disney Channel‘s “Amphibia” that pays homage to the animated cult fave.
In the “Amphibia” episode titled “Wax Museum,” the show’s family travels to a mysterious roadside oddities museum that looks and feels quite a bit like the Mystery Shack on “Gravity Falls.” Hirsch, who voiced Grunkle Stan on that show, will guest star as “The Curator,” a Stan-like character who owns the “Curiosity Hut” and features a frog custodian named “Frog Soos” (based, of course, on “Soos” from “Gravity Falls,” whom Hirsch also voiced).
“Amphibia” creator and executive producer Matt Braly worked as a storyboard artist and director on “Gravity Falls,” for which he won an Annie Award.
“I have always wanted to create a ‘Gravity Falls’ tribute in ‘Amphibia,'” Braly said. “I just didn’t know when or how. The two shows share so much DNA that it seemed like a missed opportunity not to have the worlds interact in some fashion. So when ‘Amphibia’ writer Jenava Hudek pitched an episode where the Plantars would stop at a creepy wax museum during their roadtrip, I knew this was our golden opportunity. Jenava herself was a huge ‘Gravity Falls’ fan and leapt at the chance to work with its iconic characters. The decision was made early to feature alternative universe versions of Grunkle Stan and Soos as frogs. This would be the easiest way to pay homage without stepping on anyone’s toes continuity wise.”
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Braly said he sent the script to Hirsch to get his blessing and see if he’d voice the “Curator” and “Frog Soos.”
“Not only did he end up voicing the characters but he even improvised a number of his lines in the booth, giving the characters that classic ‘Gravity Falls’ off the cuff flair,” Braly said. “It’s no surprise that the ‘Amphibia’ episode ‘Wax Museum’ is one of my favorite episodes of the season and that the Curator and Frog Soos are stand out characters. Working on this episode felt like coming home in a lot of ways.”
Season 2 of “Amphibia” premieres Saturday, July 11, and follows the Plantars as they look to unlock the mysteries of the music box by traveling to the distant city of Newtopia, encountering adventures as they search for a way to get their human friend Anne back home. “Wax Museum” airs Aug. 8 on Disney Channel.
Above and below, a first look:
