“I’m going to keep trying to come up with original stories and meet the expectations the audience has for me,” Jordan Peele said on a recent edition of Variety’s podcast. “I hope to continue to lift original filmmakers up.”And he’s been true to his word. After the major Academy Award success of “Get Out” (which earned Peele two Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director and won him the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay), Peele started immediately using the chips of goodwill he earned to help filmmakers he loved and admired. First up was Spike Lee and “BlacKkKlansman,” which he produced and was nominated for Best Picture. Now it’s stop-motion animator Henry Selick, who Peele has collaborated on the new animated Netflix feature “Wendell & Wild.”
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The film centers on two scheming demon brothers, Wendell and Wild, who enlist the aid of 13-year-old Kat Elliot (Lyric Ross) to summon them to the Land of the Living. Directed by Selick, he is the filmmaker behind “Coraline,” “James and the Giant Peach,” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” movies that all made a big impression on Peele.
The voice cast is a big one. Keegan-Michael Key as Wild, Academy Award -winner Jordan Peele as Wendell, as well as Lyric Ross, Angela Bassett, James Hong, Tamara Smart, Natalie Martinez, Tantoo Cardinal, Gabrielle Dennis, Igal Naor, David Harewood, Maxine Peake, Ramona Young, Sam Zelaya, Seema Virdi, Gary Gatewood, and Ving Rhames.
Here’s the official synopsis:
From the delightfully wicked minds of Henry Selick and producer Jordan Peele comes WENDELL & WILD, an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele), who enlist the aid of Kat Elliot — a tough teen with a load of guilt — to summon them to the Land of the Living. But what Kat demands in return leads to a brilliantly bizarre and comedic adventure like no other, an animated fantasy that defies the law of life and death, all told through the handmade artistry of stop motion.
The new trailer features an original unreleased track from Doechii entitled “I Told Em.” Doechii is a rapper and singer signed to TDE, home to acts like Kendrick Lamar and SZA.
Co-written by Selick and Peele, “Wendell & Wild” premieres on Netflix on October 28, 2022. Watch the new trailer below.
