Artemis Fowl has almost been a movie since 2001, when the Disney-owned Miramax Films first set out to adapt the young-adult fantasy series. Over the years, studio priorities changed, creative teams changed, and a little property too easily compared to Harry Potter sat waiting for the big-screen treatment. But while his books stewed in Development Hell, author Eoin Colfer spun eight yarns starring the criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl II.

“The movie has been halfway there so many times that I had begun to believe it was doomed,” author Eoin Colfer said in an email to Polygon. “So I separated the book schedule from any possible adaptation. I just wrote the stories as they occurred to me, which is probably the best way to do it anyway.”

This May, Disney finally gives Artemis Fowl his day in the sun (so luckily he brought his mesmer-protected sunglasses). Writers Conor McPherson and Hamish McColl have adapted Colfer’s series for director Kenneth Branagh (Cinderella, Hamlet), who brings the modern blockbuster sensibility to Artemis Fowl’s unique blend of sci-fi and fantasy. With a new trailer giving fans a look of the translation, Polygon asked Colfer to reflect on the long road to the Artemis Fowl movie, the changes he’s excited to see made to his original stories, and whatever happened to the winner of the Artemis Fowl “walk-on role” contest from the early 2000s.

Polygon: What made this attempt at adapting Artemis Fowl different than the false starts over the years?

Eoin Colfer: I think Disney has always championed this film, and the current team has a real Irish heart, which pushed it over the line. Kenneth, Conor, and the two leads are Irish so they had a special connection with the mythological elements of the story.

What are the biggest differences between the original books, which published around 20 years ago, and this movie? Did you work with the screenwriters to modernize certain elements?

I think a lot of the advanced tech I proposed 20 years ago has become commonplace now, so the production designer and his team had to give the fairies an upgrade. I think they developed an alternative tech that will always be timeless which is a great idea. I was not able to help with this as my brain is stuck in the 1980s!

What other kinds of changes should fans expect from the movie? Was there anything you wanted to changes you wanted to make 20 years later that the movie afforded you?

The movie did add one thing that I wish I could add to the book … I can’t tell you exactly how, but they added a ticking clock element to the siege which makes it far more exciting. There were many other changes such as gender switches, plot twists, and backstory which I am one hundred percent behind.

I think inclusivity is a wonderful thing, and I am all for switches and changes if it means the best person gets the job. Sometimes a character is so imprinted on the public consciousness that a significant change can be confusing, but most characters can take it without disturbing the narrative in a negative way.

Was there a moment from the books that you were anxious to see how the creative team would pull it off?

The was one moment in particular that I was not sure how the effects people would approach it. This was when the flatulent dwarf almost explodes with trapped wind. All I can say is that they did not hold back and the results are hilarious.

Perhaps the most important question of all: early editions of Artemis Fowl included a contest to win a walk-on role in the Artemis Fowl movie. But that was from years ago — so did anyone ever win and did that person get a chance to be in the movie? (Also, did you get a cameo?)

I do have a cameo that is quite unusual, but it is there if a viewer pays attention. I will have to track down that original competition winner … He or she is definitely too old to play a child now unless the special effects guys can de-age them!