Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po might have a gruesome return to the screen if the director of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey has his way.
Ahead of the UK release of the slasher film starring a revenge-seeking Winnie-the-Pooh, director and screenwriter Rhys Frake-Waterfield has shared his hopes to transform the grassy hill Tubby Land into a bloody hellscape.
It obviously wouldn't be the first time Frake-Waterfield has reinvented a childhood classic into a horror film.
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The plot of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey sees Pooh and Piglet go on a violent rampage after Christopher Robin abandons them.
Just in case you weren't aware, this blood-thirsty bear is not to be confused with the Disney's jolly, honey-guzzling version of the honey-loving animal.
Frake-Waterfield was able to make the film using the original characters because the A.A. Milne characters became part of the public domain - meaning the character is out of copyright and free to use from 1 January 2022.
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Although the director has admitted he'd love to ruin our childhoods by making a horrifying version of Teletubbies, there's a major issue which could render his dream fruitless.
Basically, he's unable to use characters that aren't in the public domain - and in a new interview to promote his Winnie-the-Pooh film, he was asked what he would do if copyright wasn't an issue.
"I've really been excited by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lately because I think the story has a very kind of horrifying undertone anyway because it's these half-human, half-turtles who live in the sewer who have a rat king who they follow, and then they come out of the sewer with weapons," he told Collider.
"It all just starts to link together to me. So I'd love to do that. I'd love to have them like down an alleyway cutting people up, feeding them to their rat king on pizza or something.
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"I hope I can get the copyrights to that, but I don't know if I can.”
He then added: "I want to do Teletubbies, too!"
The idea sounds wild, but we're thinking the scary scenarios he'd conjure up for the main four, the friendliest vacuum cleaner ever Noo-Noo and spare a thought for the beloved Sun Baby.
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Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey has been premiered in Mexico last month and was released in cinemas in the US, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg on 15 February.
UK fans will be able to watch the hair-raising tale from 10 March.
Topics: Film and TV