Winnie the Pooh horror movie: potential Blood and Honey film UK release date and cast with Craig David Dowsett

Winnie the Pooh and Piglet have had a dark makeover in the upcoming horror film Blood and Honey.

The Hundred-Acre Wood characters, created by A.A Milne in 1926, return to screens on a wild rampage after Christopher Robin abandoned them to go to college, leaving them to turn feral.

The action horror movie, directed and written by Rhys Waterfield, sees the chubby little cubby and his best friend turn back to their animal roots trying to get food and survive.

Blood and Honey was filmed over 10 days in England’s Ashdown Forest, which served as the inspiration for Milne’s original book series, however not every furry friend stars in the reboot - fans can only expect to see Pooh Bear and Piglet, as well as a glimpse of Eeyore’s grave.

After stills of the movie have gone viral, post-production work on the movie has picked up. Here is all you need to know.

Who stars in the upcoming film?

While the film’s budget has not been released, audiences can expect a small cast and crew.

The movie was made by Jagged Edge Productions which Waterfield runs with co-producer Scott Jeffery and has a cast list of 14 people, with Craig David Dowsett playing Winnie alongside Chris Cordell as Piglet.

Craig David Dowsett

Dowsett is a relatively new face to screens, having only featured in two other movies namely Alien Abduction and Plaguepits, however he remains hidden behind the Winnie the Pooh mask throughout the upcoming movie.

Chris Cordell

Starring in 20 new feature films over a three year period, English actor Chris Cordell is set to make it big time in the horror genre. He is known for Spider from the Attic and Gifted Pain.

Amber Doig-Thorne

Amber is an established actress, presenter and host who has extensive firearms and screen combat training as well as a BSc Degree in Theoretical Physics. Currently starring in BBC Laugh Lessons, Amber is known for The Seven, Intervention and Heropanti 2. In 2020, she won a Best Actress Award at Falcon International Film Festival for her Triple role in the critically acclaimed Sci-Fi NewBorn.

Danielle Scott

Known as the mauled woman in Blood and Honey, Danielle Scott is a British actress with upcoming films including Prototype and Darker Shades of Summer. Some may recognise Scott who also appeared in Spider from the Attic with Winnie co-star Cordell.

Maria Taylor

Adding to the new stars of the upcoming horror is Maria Taylor whose feature in Blood and Honey is only her second credit. Her other credit is the upcoming 50s-60s musical Perfectly Frank.

What has the director said about Disney copyright and plot worries?

Although copyright laws no longer apply to A.A Milne’s earliest Winnie the Pooh stories after lapsing five months ago, the Disney franchise has exclusive rights to interpretations of Tigger, Piglet and the rest of the Hundred-Acre Wood gang.

Director and writer Rhys Waterfield spoke to Variety about the risks they took when re-creating the much-beloved story.:

He said: “We’ve tried to be extremely careful…We knew there was this line between that, and we knew what their copyright was and what they’ve done, so we did as much as we could to make sure [the film] was only based on the 1926 version of it.

“No one is going to mistake this [for Disney] - when you see the cover for this and you see the trailers and the stills and all that, there is no way anyone is going to think this is a child’s version of it,” Waterfield said.

When writing the script, Waterfield also contended with the balancing between horror and comedy.

He added: “When you try and do a film like this, and it’s a really wacky concept, it’s very easy to go down a route where nothing is scary and it’s just really ridiculous and really, like, stupid/ And we wanted to go between the two.”

When can I watch the horror film?

While there is no official release date for the film, the first trailer has been released on 31 August offering audiences a glimpse into what they could expect it as early as the end of 2022.

In the two minute-trailer, Christopher Robin can be seen trying to find his childhood friends when he returns to the 100 acre wood, but finds Pooh and Piglet have gone on a killing spree after “turning wild”.