Wendell & Wild Teaser Introduces The Whole Cast Of The Netflix Stop-Motion Dark Comedy
Netflix has a killer slate for animated releases in 2022. This week marks the SXSW premiere of Richard Linklater's semi-autobiographical "Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Adventure," and later in the year we'll finally get to see Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion musical "Pinocchio," Aardman's sequel to "Chicken Run," Chris Williams' "The Sea Beast," Wendy Rogers's "The Magician's Elephant," and Minkyu Lee's "The Witch Boy." Joining these exciting titles is the devilish new film that marks Henry Selick's return to filmmaking after a thirteen-year break from Hollywood. The director behind "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Coraline" has been developing his latest film since 2015. Now, "Wendell & Wild" is finally coming to fruition with the help of collaborators, Jordan Peele and Keagan-Michael Key.
That's right, the twisted minds behind "Coraline" and "Us" are combining their talents for a story that's presumably safe for kids, but may or may not scar them for life — it could really go either way. The wicked animated comedy follows a pair of scheming demonic brothers (played by best buds Key & Peele) who flee the Underworld only to find themselves facing off against a tough teenager, Kat. Though the film is many months away (suitably slated for an October release), there's still plenty of reason to get hyped early — for one thing, Netflix just debuted a new teaser revealing the cast and character designs!
Wendell & Wild cast reveal
As you can see, Academy Award winner Jordan Peele and Emmy Award winner Keegan-Michael Key star as the titular demons Wild and Wendell, respectively, with Lyric Ross ("This Is Us") as Kat. The film also features Angela Bassett ("Black Panther") as Sister Helley; James Hong ("Turning Red," "Mulan") as Father Bests; Sam Zelaya as Raul; Seema Virdi, Tamara Smart ("A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting") and Ramona Young ("Never Have I Ever") as Sloane, Siobhan, and Sweetie; and Ving Rhames ("Pulp Fiction") as the demon Buffalo Belzer. Additional cast members include Natalie Martinez, Tantoo Cardinal, Gabrielle Dennis, Igal Naor, David Harewood, Maxine Peake and Gary Gatewood.
Per Netflix, here's the official synopsis:
"From the delightfully wicked minds of Henry Selick and Jordan Peele, comes Wendell & Wild, an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele) — who enlist the aid of 13-year-old 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, all told through the handmade artistry of stop-motion."
Netflix has conjured an incredible team of creatives for "Wendell & Wild." The return of Henry Selick is exciting enough, not to mention a Key & Peele reunion, but all three combined? It sounds too good to be true. "Wendell & Wild" began as an original story written by Selick before Peele, Key, and Clay McLeod Chapman joined as co-writers. The team also features Oscar-nominated composer Bruno Coulais ("Wolfwalkers").
While this marks Selick's grand return, the famed director also has another exciting project in the works. As fans of the Tarsier video game "Little Nightmares" already know, a TV adaptation is coming, with Selick signed on to helm the pilot (and maybe more). The platformer is a horror game, following a little girl's escape from an iron vessel in a mysterious, monster-infested world. The series has plenty of potential to follow in the footsteps of "Coraline" and horrify a new generation of children who stumble across it just a little too early. Until then, at least "Wendell & Wild" promises to be much less traumatizing — hellspawn aside.
"Wendell & Wild" is set to release sometime in October 2022.