The minds behind the fairytale horror movie series known as the Twisted Childhood Universe (or Poohniverse) have unveiled the first poster for their next horrific fable: Pinocchio: Unstrung.
Revealed by Bloody Disgusting, the poster teases a film where the magical wooden doll ditches his strings to go on a killing spree. While the original Pinocchio story follows a puppet who hopes to become a real boy, Pinocchio: Unstrung’s tagline teases a terrifying toy that won’t be the same naïve being fans know and love. With the reveal comes the announcement that Child’s Play and Underworld Awakening makeup effects veteran Todd Masters has joined the film to create its title doll. See a first glimpse at a more unhinged Pinocchio in the full poster below.
“The film will embrace practical effects at every opportunity, ranging from the doll itself to the title card of the film,” director Rhys Frake-Waterfield told Bloody Disgusting. “Having a budget significantly higher than my last film, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, I’m aiming to make this the definitive Pinocchio horror film and my best movie to date.”
Pinocchio: Unstrung is set to begin filming in October. A worldwide release is planned to arrive sometime in 2025. Frake-Waterfield says casting information “will follow shortly.” Although it shares some similarities with the ‘90s horror adaptation Pinocchio’s Revenge, the two films do not appear to be connected.
The Twisted Childhood Universe was created by Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios, encompassing other horror fairytales like Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequel as well as the yet-to-be-released Bambi: The Reckoning. Each is based on classic storylines that have entered public domain, with other films in the works including Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare and an Avengers-like crossover called Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.
Say what you will about the Poohniverse, but Jagged Edge and ITN are firmly committed to the bit and show no sign of stopping. While the team continues to prep for the future with projects like Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3 in the works, it’s expecting to increase its budget and introduce even more characters into the mix. While we wait for Pinocchio: Unstrung to come to theaters, be sure to read our reviews for both Blood and Honey films. We gave the first a 4/10 but left more impressed with its sequel, which we gave a 6/10.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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