The imaginative young adult novels from the ‘Woodwalkers’ series are especially popular in Germany. By 2023 alone, more than 2.4 million books will have been sold in this country – an impressive number. It’s no surprise that plans for a big screen adaptation of the adventures of cougar shape-shifter Carag and his friends have been in the works for some time now. After the release date of the first Woodwalker film was pushed back just a few weeks ago from January 30, 2025 to November 21, 2024, there has now been another release date change.
And this is good news for fans, because they can now enjoy the adventure on the big screen a good month earlier. “Lumber runners“ now opens in theaters nationwide on October 24, 2024!
And that’s not the only good news, because the sequels have also been brought forward: “Wood runners 2“ is expected to start on October 23, 2025 (previously: January 29, 2026), while the final “Wood runners 3“will then be released in cinemas on October 1, 2026 (previously: January 28, 2027).
And that’s what the series “Woodwalkers” is about
Even though ‘Woodwalkers’ obviously has some similarities with other young adult fantasy series, it is still an independent and extremely creative world. The focus here is on the so-called shapeshifters, who can switch back and forth between their human and animal forms. The protagonist of the novel series is Carag (Emile Chérif), a cougar shifter who left his family at a young age and has lived with a non-shifter foster family ever since.
But his unique powers do not go unnoticed. And soon he receives an invitation to go to the Clearwater High boarding school. And here the cougar boy must realize that there seem to be many other human-animal shifters that can also take the form of cats, squirrels, buffalos and even spiders. But he soon becomes aware of the wealthy and influential Andrew Milling (Oliver Masucci), also a cougar converter. What goal does this idiosyncratic businessman pursue?
Damian John Harper (“The King of Palma”) directs “Woodwalkers.” In addition to Martina Gedeck (“The Lives of Others”) and Hannah Herzsprung (“15 Years”), “Dark” star Oliver Masucci also stars as antagonist Andrew Milling. There is already a first teaser, which we have recorded for you here: