Summary

• Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood & Honey 2 marks a significant improvement with new characters and a higher budget.
• The Twisted Childhood Universe expands to include horror remakes of
  Bambi
  ,
  Peter Pan
  , and
  Pinocchio
  .
• Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble
  crossover film will unite villains for more death and destruction in 2025.

In the run-up to the anticipated release of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, plans have been announced by Jagged Edge Productions for a new horror crossover universe. After the financial success of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, director Rhys Frake-Waterfield announced his intentions to expand on his horror franchise, creating movies based on other childhood classics. It has been confirmed that Bambi, Peter Pan, and Pinocchio are among the stories that will receive a horror remake.

After Winnie-the-Pooh entered the public domain in 2022, the first horror movie remake was released in 2023; this movie saw Pooh and Piglet as bloodthirsty killers, seeking revenge on Christopher Robin, who abandoned them after he left for college. While it received a negative response from critics, a rise in public interest in the movie sparked a sequel and, eventually, a horror universe that Frake-Waterfield has entitled the Twisted Childhood Universe. This movie universe will see more horror remakes in the following years, with all the main characters ultimately uniting in a crossover movie set for release in 2025.

Bambi: The Reckoning

Similar to
Blood and Honey
,
Bambi: The Reckoning
was created after the copyright for the original novel expired.

One of the horror remakes confirmed to be part of the TCU is Bambi: The Reckoning, a horror retelling of the 1923 novel, Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten. The movie is set to follow a young woman named Xana and her son Benji, who are stranded in the woods after they are involved in a car wreck. In their search for help, they come across a monstrous, feral deer named Bambi; hungry for human flesh, the deer goes on a murderous rampage, and Xana and Benji must find a way to escape the woods with their lives.

Similar to Blood and Honey, Bambi: The Reckoning was created after the copyright for the original novel expired. Bambi: The Reckoning has cast Roxanne McKee in the role of Xana, with Tom Mulheron cast as Benji and Nicola Wright in an undetermined role; in contrast to his previous movies, Rhys Frake-Waterfield will only serve as the producer for this movie, with Dan Allen serving as the director. The release date for Bambi: The Reckoning is yet to be confirmed, but the movie is in post-production with filming having completed on January 23rd, 2024 (via Bloody Disgusting).

Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare

Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare
follows a darker and more twisted version of the boy who refuses to grow up and sees Wendy Darling on a mission to rescue her brother Michael, whom Peter Pan has kidnapped.

Shortly after the release of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, it was announced that Jagged Productions would greenlight another horror movie, this time based on the story of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare follows a darker and more twisted version of the boy who refuses to grow up; the story sees Wendy Darling on a mission to rescue her brother Michael, who has been kidnapped by Peter Pan and taken to a more horrifying version of Neverland. Peter’s fairy mascot, Tinkerbell, is also set to make an appearance, which the writers describe as an “obese drug addict”; a stark contrast to the bright and sparkling fairy that audiences are used to seeing (via Collider).

The story of Peter Pan has received several remakes in film and literature across the years; this is the first horror remake of the popular story. It is currently known that Philip Philmar has been cast as Peter, with Kit Green to portray Tinkerbell; Megan Placito and James DeSouza-Feighoney have also been cast as Wendy and Michael Darling respectively. Filming for Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare is expected to begin in May 2024, for a potential Halloween release; early images released for the movie have guaranteed a new horrifying tale for audiences to watch.

Pinocchio Unstrung

In January 2024, Jagged Edge Productions announced a horror movie based on The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. The movie entitled Pinocchio: Unstrung will offer viewers a more grotesque and frightening version of the famous puppet and will expand Frake-Waterfield’s horror universe. The original story of Pinocchio is already quite a horrifying tale on its own, as seen by its depictions of the monstrous whale and the terrible curse of Pleasure Island where naughty boys are turned into donkeys; however, the early images released of the grotesque puppet certainly guarantee that something new and unexpected will happen (via Bloody Disgusting).

The main synopsis, director, and cast list for Pinocchio: Unstrung has yet to be announced. However, the first sketches of the movie were released during the end credits of Blood and Honey 2; these images all but guarantee that this new Pinocchio is not the same happy, curious puppet that viewers know him as. Production of the movie is set to begin in the summer of 2024 and is scheduled to be potentially released in theaters by November 2024.

Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble

Production dates for
Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble
have not yet been announced, but it is known that the movie is scheduled to be released in 2025.

In March 2024, Jagged Edge Productions announced their plans to create their first crossover film in the Twisted Childhood Universe. The movie, titled Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, is set to bring Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and others together, as they unite to cause even more death and destruction around them. Jagged Edge Productions also announced the inclusion of Sleeping Beauty, The Mad Hatter, and The Talking Cricket, all of whom are also receiving a horror makeover. The first movie poster released for the film shows all the famous characters, terrorized, and all set to cause havoc and seek revenge on those who escaped their wrath before.

Actor Scott Chambers, who plays Christopher Robin in Blood and Honey 2, has called this crossover movie the opportunity to recreate an Avengers movie, this time, made up of villains. He has also stated that while Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble will see the villains join forces, there will be conflict taking place within the group as they seek out their victims. It has been confirmed that Chambers will reprise his role of Christopher Robin in this crossover, alongside Roxanne McKee, Meghan Plactio, and Lewis Santer (via Variety). Production for Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble has not begun yet, but it is known that the movie is scheduled to be released in 2025.

Every Winnie-the-Pooh Horror Movie Already Released

Early reviews of
Blood and Honey 2
called the movie a significant improvement over its predecessor, thanks to its increased budget and the addition of new cast and crew members.

The original Winnie-the-Pooh character, created by A.A. Milne, entered the U.S. public domain in 2022, allowing creators and directors to take advantage and put a twist on the celebrated children’s stories; when Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey was initially announced, many were shocked at the idea of a popular children’s character being turned into a cruel and heartless killer. Blood and Honey was released to negative reviews, receiving criticism for its production and screenplay; it was listed on Rotten Tomatoes’ 100 Worst Films of All Time and won 5 Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. However, its online popularity resulted in the movie being a box-office success and a sequel, Blood and Honey 2, being created.

Blood and Honey 2 expanded on the original story, including new characters such as Owl and Tigger, who entered the public domain in 2024. It follows Pooh and his gang leaving the 100 Acre Wood behind and wreaking murderous havoc in Ashdown in their quest for revenge. Christopher Robin, who is still recovering from his last ordeal with his former friends, must find a way to stop them. Early reviews of Blood and Honey 2 called the movie a significant improvement over its predecessor, thanks to its increased budget and the addition of new cast and crew members. These early results of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, mark a new turn in Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s horror universe and serve as a hopeful sign for the release of his future films.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey
is available to stream on Peacock.

Sources: Bloody Disgusting, Collider, Variety