A New Live-Action R-Rated 'Winnie The Pooh' Project In The Works

It’s only been a few months since the R-Rated and totally non-canonical Winnie the Pooh movie Blood and Honey hit theaters. Now, it seems as if a totally different adult project is in the works – and one that you might not expect.

According to Variety, there is a brand new R-rated live-action/animation hybrid series set in the world of Winnie the Pooh is in development from Boat Rocker Studios and Bay Mills Studios. The former company is the same company producing the forth coming Black Orphan spin-off, Black Orphan: Echoes. The latter is a new banner created by actors Shamier Anderson (John Wick: Chapter 4 and Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk).

That’s not all though. The series will reportedly revolve around Christopher Robin. More specifically, the official logline for the show states that “Christopher Robin is a disillusioned New Yorker navigating his quarter-life crisis with the help of the weird talking animals who live beyond a drug-induced portal outside his derelict apartment complex, the Hundred Acres.”

Charlie Kesserling, who wrote Kat Coiro’s upcoming film Foreign Relations has already written the script for the project. Conrad Vernon (Shrek, Sausage Party) will direct the pilot and executive produce.

No actors are attached yet.

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Now, it goes without saying that the upcoming Winnie the Pooh adaptation is not affiliated with Disney in any way, shape, or form. But it is interesting that, even after 2018’s Christopher Robin, someone found more ways to make a darker film with those characters.

And you might be wondering, “How on Earth is this possible?” Well that’s because the characters were never even Disney’s to begin with. The character was first created by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard in the 1920s. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Disney gained exclusive access to use the characters and subsequently created numerous projects with them at the center.

However, copyright law dictates that any character or story can become public domain after either 95 years from when the original story was published or 120 years after creation (whichever comes first). Pooh debuted in 1925, so you can do the math.

Interestingly enough, this isn’t the only character Disney has entering public domain in the near future. Mickey Mouse is expected to enter the public domain in 2024. Does that mean we’ll eventually see the character become a horror icon too? Who knows? But we’re certain it’s a day that the company is dreading – mostly for branding reasons.

READ: Disney History – WINNIE THE POOH

In a statement to the press, Nick Nantell, executive vice president of creative affairs for Boat Rocker Studios, said “We’re grateful to be working with the Bay Mills team, Charlie Kesslering, and Conrad Vernon on a project that takes these characters to new, unexpected, and really funny places.”

“This project takes everything you think you know about Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh and creates something completely fresh and undeniably funny,” Anderson and James added.

It’s unclear when the series will be released, but we will continue to provide updates as they become available.

SOURCE: Variety