Everyone’s favorite orphans are about to get a new home on the silver screen. Shout! Factory and Legacy Classics have announced plans to make a minimum of four feature-length Boxcar Children films over the next two years, meaning they’ll probably get pooped out on streaming services or go straight to video. In fact, the first film is already said to be “well into production,” meaning it could very well show up later this year.
While the first three movies will be animated, it’s still undecided whether the fourth movie will be live action, thus meaning we could get a real hunky Henry Alden if things work out like the market wants. Dylan O’Brien, call your agent.
This isn’t the first animated take on The Boxcar Children. A low-budget animated version of the stories voiced by JK Simmons, Martin Sheen, Illeana Douglas, Mackenzie Foy, and D.B. Sweeney was released in 2014. Though it had a budget of about $5 million, it only opened in 100 theaters, moving quickly thereafter to VOD and streaming services.
The Boxcar Children has sold over 70 million copies worldwide since its release in 1942, spawning a series that now encompasses about 150 titles.