We had heard that director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers were planning to create a cinematic universe with the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey films and other horror movies inspired by children’s stories, like Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Pinocchio Unstrung. Then, Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios officially announced that this cinematic universe, which is being referred to as The Twisted Childhood Universe, is building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which will be released in 2025. Now, in an interview with ComicBook.com, Chambers has teased that Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and the Mad Hatter will be “the worst of the worst” when it comes to the children’s story-inspired villains in the film.
Frake-Waterfield will be directing Poohniverse from a screenplay he wrote with Chambers. It was previously confirmed that the cast will include Chambers as Christopher Robin, Megan Plactio as Wendy Darling, Roxanne Mckee as Xana, Lewis Santer as Tigger, and Martin Portlock as Peter Pan. Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare and Bambi: The Reckoning are set to receive theatrical releases in the first quarter of 2025, with Pinocchio Unstrung likely to follow later in the year, so we’ll be introduced to those horrific characters well before Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble makes it to screens.
Frake-Waterfield explains, “It will be complete carnage. We are heavily influenced by Freddy vs. Jason and The Avengers. We would love to see a horror movie where the villains group together and are going after their survivors. We have some incredible set pieces in mind and some sequences I think will truly shock people. The movies we are working on now as stand alones are all building towards Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.“
Chambers added, “Similar to The Avengers, we will follow Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl, Piglet, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, The Mad Hatter, Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell joining forces to wreak havoc. We are working with a larger scale budget on this one and are excited for what the future will hold. When you see the stand alone movies you will see the easter eggs hinting toward the crossover. Some of the villains also will not see eye to eye, which will allow for some carnage within the group in some epic sequences of monster vs. monster.“
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Chambers said that Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare is “incredibly dark” because “I need you to feel a certain way about Peter Pan. By the time we get to Poohniverse, because I need you to just not like him, I need you to be against him from the get-go. Because when he goes into the arena with, for example, Pooh, I need you to look at Pooh like, ‘He’s not all too bad.’ I’ve not really spoken much about this yet, but Mary Poppins will be in it, and she’s going to be a kiddy snatcher as well. So I’m sure her and Peter Pan are going to get on like a house on fire. And then there’s also the Mad Hatter. I think those three are going to be the worst of the worst. We’ve introduced Peter and later down the line we will introduce the other two in their own films.“
Our introduction to the evil Peter Pan will come when Iconic Events Releasing brings Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare to theatres for three days only this month, from January 13th through the 15th.
Are you interested in Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble? What do you think of Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and the Mad Hatter being the worst of the villains? Let us know by leaving a comment below.