Overview
- AFI Fest will host the U.S. premiere of Wildwood as its Opening Night Film on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the festival that runs Oct. 21–25 and is presented by Canva.
- Laika plans a nationwide theatrical release on Friday, Oct. 23 through Fathom, following the festival premiere and a London festival slot reported for earlier October.
- The film is a 16‑year passion project for Laika and director‑producer Travis Knight and was made with an unusually large practical production that includes dozens of walk‑through sets and hundreds of hand‑crafted puppets.
- Wildwood was written by Chris Butler and shot by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, and it features a large voice cast led by Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay with Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Tom Waits and others.
- The AFI opening night placement gives Laika a high‑visibility platform often used to launch awards contenders and marks the studio’s first feature since 2019’s Missing Link.