Can we expect a new “The Hunger Games”? Successful children’s book series from Germany becomes cinema trilogy!

“Twilight”, “Maze Runner”, “The Hunger Games” or the “After” series: movie studios are always looking for new hype novels for adolescents that they can adapt to the big screen. At best, the template offers enough material to make several films, which at regular intervals draw streams of fans to the cinemas and make the box office ring.

Comes now with “wood runnersanother fantasy universe based on young adult novels. StudioCanal today announced release dates for the movies starring shape-shifting Puma cub Carag. start dates? That’s right, because a whole trilogy based on the popular book series awaits us.

While ‘Woodwalkers’ will hit theaters on January 30, 2025, the still-untitled sequels will follow a year later. “Woodwalkers 2” will be shown in Germany from January 29, 2026 and “Woodwalkers 3” on January 28, 2027.

“Woodwalkers”: Enough material for a movie universe

The “Woodwalkers” book series, written by Katja Brandis, has been published in Germany since 2016. So far, six volumes have been released in the first season, plus three more books in the second season of Woodwalkers: The Return. In addition, the magical world was expanded with “Seawalkers” through a spin-off. And since 2020 there is an annual special called “Woodwalkers & Friends”. If the fantasy adventure really breaks loose in the cinema, there is already a wealth of material that you can also draw from.

The content is about the Woodwalker Carag. These strange people are shapeshifters who have special powers and can transform into animals. However, there are some animals that can take human form. To date, Carag’s fantastic adventures have sold more than 2.4 million copies in Germany and have already been translated into 20 languages.

That’s what “Woodwalkers” is about

The Woodwalkers movie is all about Carag, his friends and the hurdles of growing up. The cougar boy with the shape-shifting secret has never had it easy: he actually grew up in the wilderness, but since he was separated from his parents, he lives among normal people. One day when he hears about a special Woodwalker boarding school called Clearwater High, he is overjoyed. Will he finally feel at home for the first time in his life?

There he meets the red squirrel girl Holly and the bison Brandon, with whom he quickly befriends. And that’s a good thing, because in the mysterious and dangerous world of the wood runners, it’s better to have some good friends by your side.

“Woodwalkers” is directed by Damian John Harper (“The King of Palma”) from a screenplay by David Sandreuter (“The Chestnut Man”). In addition to ‘Dark’ star Oliver Masucci, Hannah Herzsprung (‘The Reader’) will also appear in the fantasy film.