JJ Abrams' production company Bad Robot is teaming with Mattel to build a film around monster figures created by sculptor Leslie Levings. Levings calls these things THE BEASTLIES, and they're described as being "small monsters with big feelings".
Just exactly what sort of story Bad Robot and Mattel will be dropping the Beastlies into is unknown, but there is a multi-platform rollout plan in place, and THE BEASTLIES is expected to be "the first of several family-friendly world creation original properties". It is believed that the Beastlies have potential not just in the realm of film and television but also in merchandising, gaming, and live event platforms.
Levings has sculpted thousands of Beastlies over the years, and they came to Abrams' attention when he saw some on display at the comic book store she was working at in 2010. Abrams says THE BEASTLIES became
a passion project we have been working on at Bad Robot for years with the creator of these extraordinary creatures, Leslie Levings. To finally bring The Beastlies to the world, in collaboration with the brilliant minds at Mattel, is an absolute dream."
Abrams pitched the idea to Mattel president/COO Richard Dickson when they met on the set of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. Dickson says,
He presented this character concept he believed is aesthetically inspiring and creative, and then we got together the character drawings and creative conversations and that brought us to the point where we could reveal the partnership and concept. The combination of JJ and Bad Robot’s content creator powerhouse abilities and Mattel’s global marketing and branding abilities seemed a strong match for an amazing collaborative effort."
THE BEASTLIES may not be something that will appeal to a lot of horror fans – unfortunately, it doesn't look like this is going to be a "tiny terror" project like GREMLINS or CRITTERS – but there is a chance these creatures, which Levings calls "tiny, joyful, anxious, enthusiastic, sweet, mischievous, little weirdos", could help build future generations of "monster kids", and that's always a good thing.