Twisted Childhood Universe: Peter Pan, Snow White, and 5 more disturbing childhood tales in development

Remember hearing how several childhood classics like Winnie-the-Pooh would be entering the public domain in 2022? Since then, some independent filmmakers have run wild with the idea of turning beloved children's stories into horrific nightmares. It all kicked off with Rhys Frake-Waterfield's 2023 movie Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, followed by this year's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2.

But the gory Winnie-the-Pooh slasher films are just the tip of the iceberg for what has been dubbed the "Twisted Childhood Universe," also known as the TCU, another creation from Frake-Waterfield's mind and produced by his Jagged Edge Productions studio. Despite Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey receiving overwhelmingly negative critical reception, it still made money at the box office and performed well enough to warrant a sequel, which was, admittedly, slightly better received than the first.

All of the Twisted Childhood Universe movies currently in development

Frake-Waterfield isn't giving up on the TCU, though. In fact, he appears to be moving along at full speed ahead, with multiple movies in development that take on other popular stories like Snow White, Peter Pan, Bambi, and Sleeping Beauty.

• Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare (2025) - A terrifying retelling of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in which Wendy Darling must find her brother Michael after he was abducted by Peter and Tinkerbell. This one is written and directed by Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey star Scott Jeffrey, who played Christopher Robin in the slasher films.
• Bambi: The Reckoning (2025) - This one takes on Felix Salten's Bambi, A Life in the Woods and sees Bambi taking revenge for his mother's death.
• Pinnochio: Unstrung (2025) - Less is known about this one, but it will reportedly be a retelling of The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.
• Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble (2025) - As you can likely guess from the title, Poohniverse is an Avengers-style team-up where characters from other installments, likely Bambi, Pinnochio, and Peter Pan, will work together to take down survivors of their individual massacres. It will also supposedly introduce some other popular public domain characters.
• Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3 (2026) - The third entry into the main series.

In addition to those listed above, films for Sleeping Beauty and Snow White titled Awakening Sleeping Beauty and Snow White Returns are reportedly in development.

There are a lot of films planned for the TCU, and I have to admit that it's a little hard to believe that all of them will be made. But stranger things have happened. If they can build a loyal audience, even just a passionate cult following, the TCU could be around for many years to come.

While not technically part of the TCU, there are also a couple of horror films in development centered around Steamboat Willie, the 1928 short film that introduced Mickey Mouse. One was already released earlier this year, a slasher called The Mouse Trap, and another one, Screamboat, starring David Howard Thornton (Terrifier film series), is scheduled for January 2025.

iHorror Productions is also working on a Freddy vs. Jason-style slasher film that pits Steamboat Willie-era Mickey Mouse against Winnie-the-Pooh, though it doesn't look to be connected to the TCU or Screamboat.