Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers has revealed the movie will have Mary Poppins and not many survivors
We had heard that director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers were planning to create a cinematic universe with the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey films and other horror movies inspired by children’s stories, like Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare, Bambi: The Reckoning, and Pinocchio Unstrung. Then, Jagged Edge Productions and ITN Studios officially announced that this cinematic universe, which is being referred to as The Twisted Childhood Universe, is building up to the crossover movie Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, which will be released in 2025. Now, JoBlo’s own Tyler Nichols has had the chance to talk to Chambers about their plans for Poohniverse – and during their conversation, Chambers revealed that one of the classic children’s story characters who will be added into the mix with this movie, which sounds like it’s going to be a total bloodbath, is Mary Poppins!
Mary Poppins was created by writer P. L. Travers, who wrote about the character in a series of eight novels. Walt Disney released a musical Mary Poppins film in 1964 that starred Julie Andrews as the character, and in 2018 she was played by Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns.
Frake-Waterfield will be directing Poohniverse from a screenplay he wrote with Chambers. It was previously confirmed that the cast will include Chambers as Christopher Robin, Megan Plactio as Wendy Darling, Roxanne Mckee as Xana, Lewis Santer as Tigger, and Martin Portlock as Peter Pan. Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare and Bambi: The Reckoning are set to receive theatrical releases in the first quarter of 2025, with Pinocchio Unstrung likely to follow later in the year, so we’ll be introduced to those horrific characters well before Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble makes it to screens.
Frake-Waterfield explains, “It will be complete carnage. We are heavily influenced by Freddy vs. Jason and The Avengers. We would love to see a horror movie where the villains group together and are going after their survivors. We have some incredible set pieces in mind and some sequences I think will truly shock people. The movies we are working on now as stand alones are all building towards Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.“
Chambers added, “Similar to The Avengers, we will follow Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl, Piglet, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, The Mad Hatter, Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell joining forces to wreak havoc. We are working with a larger scale budget on this one and are excited for what the future will hold. When you see the stand alone movies you will see the easter eggs hinting toward the crossover. Some of the villains also will not see eye to eye, which will allow for some carnage within the group in some epic sequences of monster vs. monster.“
Speaking with Tyler, Chambers revealed, “You’re gonna get Mary Poppins. I just decided she’s gonna be in the mix. So she’s gonna be a nightmare in there. And also, just don’t expect anyone to survive. I love that Avengers [Infinity War] where they all die at the end, like Spider-Man and all that. Typically I don’t like those films. And I got dragged to the cinema, and when they all died, I was like, ‘Oh, I love it now, I want to watch the next one.’ But then, when they all got resurrected, I was like, [motions dismissively]. But in ours, truly, I want you to kind of, hopefully, like these characters. Like when you have your introductory films like Pinocchio, that you love the lead characters, and same with Peter Pan. But I’m going to destroy them in universe, and no one’s… like, it’s gonna be like you can count on a hand who’s going to survive it.“
Are you looking forward to Poohniverse, and are you glad to hear that it’s going to be a bloodbath with Mary Poppins in the mix? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
