LAIKA’s Wildwood gets a new trailer

Black Bear UK today unveiled the first full trailer for Wildwood, the latest feature from LAIKA Studios, revealing the extraordinary 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 will release in UK cinemas 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 singular 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?).