Lightcraft’s Upcoming Animated Feature ‘Wonderland’ Expanding Into TV

Polish production company Lightcraft is expanding the world of its upcoming animated film “Wonderland” with a new TV series toplining Louis Serkis (“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” “The Kid Who Would Be King”) slated to premiere next year.

The feature film, which stars Roman Griffin Davis (“500 Miles,” “King of Kings,” “Jojo Rabbit”) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Dust Bunny,” “The Last Viking”), is a fantasy adventure that follows 12-year-old Jake and his friend Jenny, who together face off against the enigmatic Vagapulga in their dreams.

After wowing buyers with the film at last year’s AFM, German distributor and sales company Kinostar will be presenting the new series at the Marché du Film in Cannes.

The show, which comprises two seasons, is scheduled to be released in early 2027.

Set after the events of the film, in a vibrant world — and even across multiple worlds — the series follows the same core characters in a new, standalone storyline, while further expanding and deepening the protagonists and universe of “Wonderland.”

For Serkis, son of actor-director Andy Serkis and actress Lorraine Ashbourne, the series marks the latest in a growing number of high-profile projects. The young actor has been increasingly busy in both television and film, most recently starring in the gritty ITV crime drama series “Out There” and also appearing in BBC One’s “Wild Cherry.” In addition to “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” his past credits include ITV legal drama “The Return” and Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit.”

Serkis “infuses ‘Wonderland’ with a fresh, emotionally grounded energy that elevates the series, stepping into the role of a 12-year-old boy who, this time, encounters an extraordinary visitor in the Honey Valley,” Lightcraft stated. Blending adventure, humor and emotion, the series is squarely aimed at a wide family audience, the company added.

Like the movie, the series begins as a deeply human story grounded in relationships that gradually unfolds into a large-scale, epic adventure.

“Visually, it leans into a hybrid 2.5D approach, combining cinematic depth with a pre-planned layer of stylized identity,” Lightcraft noted. “The production is developed as 100% human made, with each shot crafted individually by artists known for (among others) ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ ‘Superman,’ ‘Spider-Man,’ ‘Pocahontas,’ ‘Mulan,’ ‘Matrix’ and the Lego movies.”

“We didn’t set out to make a statement about technology,” added co-director, producer and Lightcraft CEO Daniel Markowicz. “First and foremost, we wanted to create something meaningful, something engaging, worth watching, with real care.

“We don’t have anything against AI, but in this project we wanted to create something that comes from the heart and connects directly with the audiences feelings,” Markowicz stressed. “We all know the difference when something is re-cycled, or based on profound human experience.”

With the feature film and two seasons nearing release, Warsaw-based Lightcraft has positioned “Wonderland” as a long-term global IP. “At Lightcraft Animation, we have many more stories in development within the ‘Wonderland’ universe, as well as a slate of other animated projects for next years,” Markowicz noted.

“Wonderworld” is produced by Markowicz, and executive produced by Paulina Nowak, Dariush Derakhshani and Kinostar CEO Michael Roesch.

Co-directing the series alongside Markowicz are Maks Naporowski (“The Matrix Revolutions,” “Spider-Man,” “Harry Potter”) and Mikolaj Valencia. The creative team also includes Peter Bielicki, a long-time Disney collaborator who worked on “Mulan,” “Pocahontas” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”; Catherine Chooljian, an artist known for her work on such hits as “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “Kung Fu Panda 4”; and Dariush Derakhshani, a visual effects supervisor whose credits include “Game of Thrones” and “Apocalypto.”

Stuttgart-based Kinostar, which is handling world sales for both the film and series, is further bolstering its international lineup as well as its partnership with Lightcraft, whose recent productions have included the hit Netflix action pics “Soulcatcher,” “Lesson Plan” and “Bartkowiak,” all helmed by Markowicz.  

“We’re thrilled by the interest from studios and distributors from around the world, which will be multiplied by the rollout of the amazing series, which expands the ‘Wonderland’ universe into new worlds,” said Roesch.