LAIKA to Release First Trailer for WILDWOOD, Starring Carey Mulligan
Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay lead a cast that includes Angela Bassett, Mahershala Ali and Awkwafina.
LAIKA has unveiled the first full trailer for WILDWOOD, revealing the scale, adventure and handcrafted artistry of the studio's most ambitious film to date.
Directed and produced by Travis Knight (Masters of the Universe, Kubo and the Two Strings) and written by Chris Butler (Masters of the Universe, ParaNorman), WILDWOOD opens in theaters across the United States on October 23, 2026.
Set just beyond Portland, Oregon, WILDWOOD begins when headstrong teenager Prue McKeel's baby brother is abducted by a murder of crows and carried into the Impassable Wilderness — a hidden forest that most people don't know exists.
Prue follows.
Joined by her loyal but hapless classmate Curtis Mehlberg, she crosses into a world unlike anything she knows: a vast and unpredictable wilderness of talking animals, bandits, ancient powers and rival factions, all caught in a struggle for the future of Wildwood.
As Prue ventures deeper into the forest, what begins as a rescue becomes something much larger. To bring her brother home, she will have to navigate a world with its own histories, loyalties and secrets — and discover why she was drawn there in the first place.
Inspired by Colin Meloy's acclaimed novel, WILDWOOD brings an expansive fantasy world to the screen through LAIKA's approach to stop-motion filmmaking. Characters, environments and intricate details are physically crafted and animated by hand, frame by frame, creating a world that feels both fantastical and unmistakably tangible.
WILDWOOD features a voice cast led by Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Prue McKeel and Jacob Tremblay as Curtis Mehlberg, alongside Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan (Shame), Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians), Jake Johnson (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Charlie Day (The Super Mario Galaxy Movie), Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Jemaine Clement (Avatar: Fire and Ash), Maya Erskine (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon), Tom Waits (Seven Psychopaths) and Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?).
Fathom Entertainment will handle the theatrical release of WILDWOOD across the United States. International sales are handled by FilmNation Entertainment.
Tickets for WILDWOOD in the United States will be available later this summer at Fathom Entertainment and participating theater box offices (theater locations are subject to change). Fans can sign up now to be among the first notified when tickets go on sale.
About LAIKA
Founded in 2005 just outside Portland, Oregon, LAIKA has produced five animated films: Missing Link (2019), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), The Boxtrolls (2014), ParaNorman (2012) and Coraline (2009). All were nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Animated Feature. Kubo and the Two Strings won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film and received an additional Oscar nomination for Visual Effects. Missing Link was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Animated Film. LAIKA was awarded a Scientific and Technology Oscar in 2016 for its innovation in 3D printing. Among animated films in development are The Night Gardener, from an original idea by Bill Dubuque, creator of the hit series Ozark, and Piranesi, based on the NYT bestselling novel by Susanna Clarke with a screenplay to be written by Dave Kajganich.
LAIKA's Live Action subsidiary has a range of projects in development including a feature film based on the action thriller novel Seventeen by screenwriter John Brownlow. Captain Marvel filmmakers Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck will write and direct LAIKA's live action adaptation of #1 New York Times bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid's novel Atmosphere. Lulu Wang will direct and Wang and Martyna Martok will write the film version of Katie Kitamura's bestselling novel Audition with Lucy Liu and Charles Melton attached to star, which LAIKA is producing alongside Higher Ground Productions. Brian Duffield (Spontaneous) will write and direct an original script Crumble with Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Project Hail Mary) producing and Dune screenwriter Jon Spaihts is working on an original film project for the studio. On the television side, LAIKA recently optioned the upcoming book Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel and will produce the series alongside Emma Stone and Dave McCary's Fruit Tree production company.
About Fathom Entertainment
Fathom Entertainment is the leading global specialty distributor of content to movie theatres. For more than 20 years, Fathom Entertainment has pioneered theatrical distribution of events and special engagements across various genres and formats, including feature films, episodic content, documentaries, concerts, and live events. Fathom consistently ranks among the top 10 theatrical distributors in North America and distributes content to cinemas worldwide. Fathom Entertainment is owned by AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), and Regal Cineworld Group (LSE: CINE.L). For more information, visit FathomEntertainment.com
About FilmNation Entertainment
Academy-Award-winning FilmNation Entertainment is a leading independent entertainment company that produces, finances, and distributes films, TV series, podcasts, and theater productions with global appeal. FilmNation productions include Sean Baker's Anora, which won five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actress for Mikey Madison; Edward Berger's Academy Award-Winning Conclave, and sales for Pablo Larraín's Oscar-nominated Maria, Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck and Derek Cianfrance's Roofman. The company also produced award-winning box office hits Promising Young Woman, Arrival, and The Big Sick, and is the home of Infrared, a film production label focused on genre films with franchise potential, such as Novocaine.
FilmNation debuted the Emmy Award-winning TV series I Know This Much is True for HBO. TV releases also include the Prime Video Original Series The House of the Spirits, the historical epic Black Gold for NDR and ARD and Small Town, Big Story for Sky. The company's popular podcasts champion non-fiction storytelling and include the Signal Award-Winning SNAFU with Ed Helms and the podcast-inspired book SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History's Greatest Screwups is a New York Times Best Seller. FilmNation's theater credits include 2024 Best Play Tony-Winner Stereophonic, and the Tony Award-Winning productions Prima Facie, The Sound Inside, and The Band's Visit.