Bambi: The Reckoning - Release window, cast details and more about the upcoming independent horror retelling

Bambi, who was once afraid of "He" (a term they used for humans), is coming back to haunt them in Bambi: The Reckoning via the franchise, The Twisted Childhood Universe, that's hellbent on ruining our childhoods. It was first announced to be in development during November 2022 and now we have a new trailer for the film that's releasing this year.

It currently shares this film universe with movies including Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023), Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 (2024), and Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare (2025), while a couple more, including Pinocchio: Unstrung and Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble, are slated to release this year.

The film will star Roxanne McKee (Hollyoaks), Samira Mighty (Beauty and the Beast), Russell Geoffrey Banks (Who's Watching Oliver), and more and is directed by Dan Allen. The film doesn't have a sequel planned, but this monstrous Bambi will likely appear in the crossover film Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble.

When is Bambi: The Reckoning releasing?

The Dan Allen film was initially scheduled to arrive in Fall 2024 but was later shifted to 2025. However, we still don't have a precise release date. It is currently set to arrive sometime in the summer, which could be as early as June 2025 or as late as September 2025.

The cast of Bambi: The Reckoning

We have Bambi, the now-mutated deer, in the lead role—though, of course, no one is playing him, thanks to CGI. Now, let's see who the human characters are.

Roxanne McKee (Game of Thrones) plays Xana, who gets into a car wreck before being hunted by Bambi. She isn’t alone, as she is with her son Benji, played by Tom Mulheron. The young actor is known for Slow Horses (2022), Casualty(2020-2025), and The Last Vermeer (2019).

While these two are in Bambi's crosshairs, they won’t be the only ones to encounter the mutated deer. Here’s a list of actors appearing in Bambi: The Reckoning:

Nicola Wright as Mary
Samira Mighty as Harriet
Russell Geoffrey Banks as Andrew
Catherine Adams as Jo
Alex Cooke as Simon
Big Tobz as Tyler
David Ambler as Rob
Adrian Relph as Michael
Joseph Greenwood as Harrison
Luke Cavendish as Joshua
Ewan Borthwick as Eddie

What is Bambi: The Reckoning about?

Fans certainly won’t want to cuddle this version of Bambi—that’s a good way to lose some organs. The film follows a grief-stricken deer, and here’s the official plot summary:

After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother.

It’s easy to see that this isn’t the kind of deer that would fall victim to a hit-and-run case. Nicholas Hoult's Justin Kemp from Juror #2 might consider himself lucky that it was only a human he might’ve hit.

In the novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods (1923), we see the little deer being taught by his mother as he learns the ways of the jungle. She is killed by hunters in the story, which is likely to be the case here as well. The first teaser even shows some hunters shooting at a dead bird hanging from a tree.