The characters from A. A. Milne's 1926 classic Winnie the Pooh are now free to use legally without repercussion due to the fact it's been 95 years since the original book was released.
U.S. copyright law is a strange beast, but it means these iconic characters - who are perhaps known best for starring in Disney's animated movies - are readily available for anyone and everyone to reinvent. We saw that in the critically panned horror movie Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, a title that made $5 million at the box office but cost only $100,000 to produce!
According to Variety, another R-Rated live-action adaptation is on the way, this time for television.
Tentatively titled Christopher Robin, it won't be a horror-themed project and is in the works from Boat Rocker Studios and Shamier Anderson and Stephan James’ Bay Mills Studios.
"Christopher Robin is a disillusioned New Yorker navigating his quarter-life crisis," reads the official logline, "with the help of the weird talking animals who live beyond a drug-induced portal outside his derelict apartment complex, the Hundred Acres."
Charlie Kesslering (Foreign Relations) wrote the script, while Conrad Vernon (Sausage Party) has been tapped to direct the pilot.
"This project takes everything you think you know about Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh and creates something completely fresh and undeniably funny," say Anderson and James. "We’re excited to partner with Boat Rocker, Charlie, and Conrad on this journey to a truly creative space where anything is possible for these characters."
"There are few characters more iconic and known the world over for their adventures together than Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh," adds executive producer Nick Nantell. "We’re grateful to be working with the Bay Mills team, Charlie Kesslering, and Conrad Vernon on a project that takes these characters to new, unexpected, and really funny places."
It's unclear where Christopher Robin could eventually land but it's likely too soon for it to be shopped around to networks and streamers. We can't deny that it's a unique premise, though it's also one many Disney fans are unlikely to appreciate!