Disney has – entirely fairly, we should preface – come under fire for its increasingly monotonous production line of live-action remakes, but maybe those sins should be forgiven when the team behind Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is in the midst of something much worse.
As if turning the residents of Hundred Acre Wood into the blood-soaked antagonists of one of the worst-reviewed feature films in cinematic history wasn’t enough, producer Scott Jeffrey confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter he’s doubling down with his plans to direct both Bambi: The Reckoning and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare.
“We were actually meant to be shooting Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare but we weren’t quite ready with the script. I was meant to direct Bambi but switched to Peter Pan as it’s more my style. I’m pushing Peter Pan until April, and Bambi starts shooting in January. So we’re very much prepping right now. It’s going to be wild.”
Because there are apparently people who want such a thing to exist, too, the filmmaker confirmed that an entire universe is on the cards, one set to skirt the fine line between the public domain and copyright infringement.
“There’s going to be Easter Eggs in Winnie the Pooh 2 about two films that have not been announced yet. Just a little tiny wink. Same in Bambi. They’re very much connected, but it’s not in your face. And then later down the line, I guess when we run out of ideas, is where they’ll start meeting one another.”
Superheroes might take a lot of the blame for the so-called “death of cinema,” but it’d be a crime to omit the obsession with turning beloved children’s tales into slashers from the conversation.