Twisted Childhood Universe: The new slasher franchise, explained

Nothing is original, so the old adage goes. It's been applied to every creative space, but it has been especially true for Hollywood in the 21st century. Studios have grown increasingly reliant on popular brands recognizable IP to drive the box office. The Twisted Childhood Universe is more of the same, but we do have to admit that it takes a unique approach to characters we've seen before.

The Twisted Childhood Universe is a studio's dream, in that it both recycles established characters from other films and leans into the marketable concept of a shared universe. Marvel may be having a hard time making hits, but the rest of Hollywood is still trying to recapture the magic of peak MCU.

The TCU was established in 2022

We digress. The Twisted Childhood Universe is the latest instance of a shared continuity between films, and it just announced its third installment: Pinocchio: Unstrung. If that sounds like a bizarre attempt to repurpose the iconic puppet as a horror movie villain, then you are right on the money. Unstrung will see Pinocchio break bad, and terrify victims in a live action space.

Pinocchio: Unstrung will be directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and produced by Scott Jeffrey. These two are the driving force behind the first installment in the Twisted Childhood Universe, which was the controversial film Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023). Once again, the point of the film was to take a beloved childhood character and transform them into a bloodthirsty monster.

Several films have already been announced

Blood and Money worked, grossing $7 million on a $100K budget, and Frake-Waterfield and Jeffrey put out a sequel a year later. Now, they are setting their sights on something more ambitious. They have upped their game with Pinocchio: Unstrung, as Variety reports that they have cast horror icon Robert Englund to provide the titular character's voice.

A cursory skim through the Twisted Childhood Universe Wikipedia page confirms that the duo have lots of films planned for the future. Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare and Bambi: The Reckoning are slated for 2025, as is the crossover nobody knew they wanted: Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble. It will be an Avengers-equivalent event, and frankly, we can't wait.