As it turns out, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is only the tip of the blood-soaked public domain iceberg. Blood and Honey filmmaker Rhys Frake-Waterfield is now committed to turning the one-off horror adaptation of the classic children’s tale into a bonafide cinematic universe. Move aside, Dark Universe.
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“The idea is that we’re going to try and imagine they’re all in the same world, so we can have crossovers,” the filmmaker said in a recent chat with THR. “People have been messaging saying they really want to see Bambi versus Pooh.”
While some may point out the filmmaker’s ideas are to simply adapt the Disney properties that have since entered the public domain and add blood and gore, Frake-Waterfield said that won’t be the case.
“There are many, many, many other ideas out there which aren’t tied to Disney,” the filmmaker added. “Loads of old fairytales and urban legends, concepts that are synonymous with your childhood, and they’re the ones which I want to build up into a twisted alternative reality.”
After an early $1 million box office haul in Mexico ahead of its domestic release next week, a sequel to Blood and Honey has already entered development. The filmmaker also has the first spin-off in the works, a take on Treasure Island called Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare.
“We have been overwhelmed with the enthusiastic response from the public,” executive producer Stuart Alson said in a statement. “From top media companies ranging from Rolling Stone magazine to USA Today to TMZ to individual comments on Reddit and YouTubeโthe world is cravingย Blood and Honey, and we’re thrilled to be teaming up with Fathom to deliver Winnie-The-Pooh as never seen before.”
The official synopsis for the film reads: “The days of adventures and merriment have come to an end, as Christopher Robin, now a young man,ย has left Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet to fend for themselves. As time passes, feeling angry and abandoned, the two become feral. After getting a taste for blood, Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet set off to find a new source of food. It’s not long before their bloody rampage begins.”
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honeyย is set for a limited theatrical release on February 15th. What other classic public domain characters would you like to see adapted for horror? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!