LAIKA's 'Wildwood' Final Trailer Drops

The long wait for LAIKA's return is nearly over. It's been more than seven years since the release of Missing Link, and in fact their new film has been in the works even longer than that. Wildwood has been in production since 2011, mere week's after the publication of Colin Moloy's novel, on which it is based. The film finally arrives on October 23 in the US. Now, as tickets go on sale, LAIKA has dropped the final trailer.

The film (and book) focuses on teenaged girl Pru, who's baby brother is kidnapped by a murder of crows from their home of Portland, Oregon. Along with her classmate Curtis, she must journey into the nearby enchanted forest (or 'Wildwood' if you will) to rescue him. On her journey she encounters all sorts of magical creatures and learns of a looming war in the forest.

The trailer certainly gives off Coraline vibes, perhaps reminding audiences of the studio's most successful film to date. But this time, it's not based on a book by an alleged sexual predator so that's a definite plus. LAIKA's films have gradually grown more ambitious and more technically accomplished, and this appears to be their biggest yet. Expansive locations and large scale battle scenes are not typically attempted in stop-motion. The animation looks so smooth that some audiences might even mistake it for CGI. It clearly distinguishes LAIKA's work from the deliberately hand-made feel of fellow stop-motion studio Aardman.

Wildwood is directed by LAIKA CEO Travis Knight. This will be the second film he directed this year, following the commercially unsuccessful live-action Masters Of The Universe. It's also the second film he has directed for the studio, following Kubo and The Two Strings. The script is written by Chris Butler, who previously wrote and directed Paranorman and Missing Link and wrote Kubo and Masters Of The Universe. Sam Wilson and Arriane Sutner are producers.

The film features the voices of Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan,  Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, Richard E Grant, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jermaine Clement and more.

Coraline was LAIKA's first film, and also its most successful. Their subsequent films made less and less with each release, despite being loved by critics and animation fans. Will Wildwood stop the downward trend? It feels like there is a lot of pressure on this to do well. Or perhaps Travis Knight's billionaire father (NIKE boss Phil Knight) has deep enough pockets to keep bankrolling them forever. 

Wildwood will receive its World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on October 11, 2026. The film will be released in the US by Fathom Entertainment on October 23, with a PG-13 rating. It will be released in the UK on the same date.