The new animated movie is based on the 2011 fantasy novel of the same name, written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Carson Ellis, as Prue McKeel ventures into the Impassable Wilderness to save her baby brother, Mac, and gets caught up in a much larger magical conflict. Laika Studios spent 16 years working on the film adaptation that is now in theaters and brought to life via stunning stop-motion animation.
In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Tatiana Hullender for Wildwood, Meloy, Ellis, and the cast were asked about whether there will be a sequel since there are two more books, Under Wildwood and Wildwood Imperium. Meloy shared that director Travis Knight has previously spoken about being interested in making a sequel, but the author is unsure whether it will happen based on how long it took to make this one, along with taking audience reception into consideration.
Prue voice actor Peyton Elizabeth Lee believes that Knight and the rest of the movie’s creative team will need a break after 16 years and only finishing the final version of the film three weeks ago. When the time is right, though, she is eager to be part of the project and reunite with Jacob Tremblay, who voiced Curtis Mehlberg. Check out the comments from Meloy, Ellis, and Lee below:
Colin Meloy: I don’t know if there have been. I mean, Travis has said he would like to, but I don’t know. It takes so long, and I think a lot of it depends on how much this one probably resonates with audiences, and things like that. So, I don’t even know! Travis is so generous and so sweet, but I think he’s just blowing smoke up my ass. [Laughs]
ScreenRant: Well, we are going to spread the word so it happens.
Carson Ellis: Please do! It took 16 years to make this one.
Peyton Elizabeth Lee: They just finished making this film, like, three weeks ago! [Laughs] So, I think they probably want a little break from the story. But when and if they come back around, I’d definitely love to be part of it. Even if just to work with this creative genius [Jacob Tremblay] once again!
Colin Meloy: I don’t know if there have been. I mean, Travis has said he would like to, but I don’t know. It takes so long, and I think a lot of it depends on how much this one probably resonates with audiences, and things like that. So, I don’t even know! Travis is so generous and so sweet, but I think he’s just blowing smoke up my ass. [Laughs]
ScreenRant: Well, we are going to spread the word so it happens.
Carson Ellis: Please do! It took 16 years to make this one.
Peyton Elizabeth Lee: They just finished making this film, like, three weeks ago! [Laughs] So, I think they probably want a little break from the story. But when and if they come back around, I’d definitely love to be part of it. Even if just to work with this creative genius [Jacob Tremblay] once again!
While no sequel plans have been confirmed yet, in terms of Meloy’s question about whether it will resonate with the audience, the movie has succeeded in this regard. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a “Verified Hot” 97% audience score based on more than 1,000 verified ratings. As for the critics’ score, it is a “Certified Fresh” 100% based on 115 reviews as of this writing. Both of these scores are the highest for any feature film in Laika’s history.
In ScreenRant‘s Wildwood review, Liz Declan gave the movie 10 out of 10 stars and wrote that “Wildwood is a truly captivating story with second-to-none stop-motion animation; fully-formed, nuanced characters who avoid common tropes; and a fantastical story that feels both familiar in its nuts-and-bolts and unique and unexpected in all the ways that matter.”
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The reception from critics and audiences is promising for a sequel, but the early box office does not bode well for a follow-up, as it is expected to finish opening weekend with a total of $11.6 million after being made on a $100 million production budget. This would be the second-lowest opening weekend in Laika’s history, only behind Missing Link (2019) at $5.9 million, and the high budget makes it more difficult to break even or make a profit.
Financial matters aside, if a sequel were to be made, some of the younger voice actors may need to be recast due to no longer sounding like their characters. In an interview with BAFTA, Knight talked about how the voice performances were recorded about five years before the movie’s release and how the timing worked out with Tremblay, as the way his voice sounds changed not long after that. Under Wildwood takes place shortly after the first novel, so Curtis would still need to sound like he is 12 or just slightly older.
Despite there being more source material available for adaptation, the Wildwood movie does tell a complete story and doesn’t end on any kind of cliffhanger or leave major threads unresolved. Prue and Curtis have more adventures after their first experiences in the magical land, but their arcs in the existing movie are able to stand on their own.
Along with Lee as Prue and Tremblay as Curtis, the Wildwood cast also includes Carey Mulligan as Alexandra, Mahershala Ali as Brendan, Awkwafina as Septima, Amandla Stenberg as Niamh, Angela Bassett as the General, Tantoo Cardinal as Iphigenia, Richard E. Grant as Owl Rex, Jake Johnson as Mr. McKeel, Maya Erskine as Mrs. McKeel, Tom Waits as Maxim, Charlie Day as Dmitri, Marc Evan Jackson as Lars Svik, Len Cariou as Richard, and Arthur Knight as Mac McKeel.
Wildwood is now playing in theaters.
Wildwood
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