Stop-motion film Wendell & Wild is coming to Netflix on October 28
Jordan Peele has been scaring adults for years, but now he’s turning his efforts to kids. His newest venture has him teaming up with director Henry Selick (Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas) on the eerie stop-motion film Wendell & Wild.
Peele, who is serving as a producer on the project, shared the trailer on Twitter, and we are equal parts scared and thrilled for its October 28 release. Netflix’s synopsis describes it as “animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele) – who enlist the aid of Kat Elliot – a tough teen with a load of guilt – to summon them to the Land of the Living. But what Kat demands in return leads to a brilliantly bizarre and comedic adventure like no other, an animated fantasy that defies the law of life and death…”
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) September 6, 2022
Wendell & Wild is actually based on an unpublished book by Selick and Clay McLeod Chapman, which was then turned into a screenplay by Selick and Peele. It boasts a star-studded cast that includes Angela Basset, Ving Rhames, Jordan Peele, Lyric Ross, Sam Zelaya, and Keegan-Michael Key. (That’s right—the Key & Peele reunion we’ve been waiting for!)
As if the cast wasn’t enough, the eye-popping animation is truly next-level. Selick and Peele worked hard to make it that way. “They dissected every inch of the film to find the best way to portray concepts that have been explored before in a new way,” says Forbes.
“The underworld in our film is a hell, but it’s not the hell,” Selick tells Forbes. “It’s a place for the souls of the danged, not the damned, and who are the danged? Crooked lawyers. Some of those DMV workers, maybe a few meter maids—people that are bad, but not evil.”
The film is premiering at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11 and will drop on Netflix on October 28.
