Warriors (feature film)

Warriors (also known as Warriors: Into the Wild) is a 2026 Chinese/American live-action/Hand-drawn animated dark fantasy adventure drama film directed by Bill Condon, coproduced by Heyday Films and Alibaba Pictures, produced by David Heyman, and written by Jeff Nathanson. Based on the novel series of the same name written by Kate Cary, Victoria Holmes, and Cherith Baldry, Warriors is a live action/hand-drawn animated film that tells the story of Rusty, later known as Firepaw, a housecat who joins a tribe of feral cats known as Thunderclan, and encounters numerous challenges along the way to becoming a Thunderclan warrior. The film stars KJ Apa as the voice of Rusty/Firepaw, while also featuring the voices of Ansel Elgort, Estelle, Hugh Jackman, Michelle Fairley, Gina Rodriguez, Giancarlo Esposito, Chosen Jacobs, Sam Clafin, and Paul Abrahamian in supporting roles.

Cary, Holmes, and Baldryassisting Heyman, Condon, and Nathanson with the development of the film. The story of the film borrows elements from several of the books in the first arc of the series, mainly the first, third, and sixth books. Principal photography commenced in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2022, with some filming taking place at Shepperton Studios in Surrey. A coproduction between China, the United Kingdom, and the United States, production took place in all three countries. Visual effects anrk was completed in China, photography and screenplay development took place in the United Kingdom, and voice recording, score composure, and additional visual work was completed in Los Angeles. The filts are primarily live action, but the characters are portrayed via computer generated imagery.

Warriors premiered on August 29, 2026 in London, and will be theatrically released in North America on September 13, 2019 in RealD 3D, IMAX 3D, Dolby Cinema, and other premium large formats. It recieved generally positive reviews from critics, with many praising the voice acting work, visual effects, animation, and musical score, though it also recieved criticism for its vague plot, cumbersome amount of characters and efforts to combine several storylines into the film. Fans criticized the film for its creative liberties and divergence from focusing on one single storyline, as well as several characters having their roles and personalities changed. Nonetheless, the film was a surprise commercial success, grossing over $531 million worldwide on a budget of $105 million. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Mixing at the 92nd Academy Awards.

A sequel, Warriors: Fire and Ice, is scheduled to be released on December 24, 2029, and a third movie is planned for 2032.

Film Summary
Set in 1991, a fight between ThunderClan and RiverClan was at the turmoil of mystical prophecies. When Redtail meets his doom by getting crushed by a huge rock, caused by a mysterious hybrid, the war was to be over. Tigerclaw demands that they should retreat and take some rest for the rest of the night. Meanwhile, Spottedleaf and Bluestar looked up to the starry sky and a prophecy hit them: Fire alone will save the clan. This was a new prophecy given by the gods of StarClan.

Plot
A group of feral cats known as Thunderclan are battling against their rival, Riverclan, by a river for control over a territory called Sunningrocks, to which both clans have equal claim. Redtail, Thunderclans deputy, soon realizes Thunderclan is badly outnumbered and orders the battle patrol to retreat. Tigerclaw, a Thunderclan deputy, reluctantly follows the order, angered that Riverclan should be allowed to win territory so quickly. In the Thunderclan camp, Bluestar, leader of Thunderclan, is trying to seek answers from Starclan, troubled by that nights defeat. At that moment, Spottedleaf, the medicine cat of Thunderclan, recieves a prophecy from Starclan, echoing to Bluestar that "Fire alone can save our Clan'." Bluestar is confused, for fire is feared by all clans, and ponders what the meaning of this prophecy could possibly be.

A housecat, or kittypet in clan cat terminology, named Rusty has a dream about catching a mouse in the forest, and lets his prey go due to a distracting noise. This dream motivates the young cat to step into the forest against the warnings of his friend Smudge, where he is briefly ambushed by Graypaw, a Thunderclan apprentice. Instead of fleeing, Rusty fights back against Graypaw. Unbeknownst to the two young cats, two warriors from Thunderclan are watching, Lionheart, Graypaws mentor, and Bluestar. Impressed after having seen Rusty and Graypaw fight, Bluestar offers Rusty a chance to join their Clan of feral cats and train as an apprentice.

The next day, Rusty is escorted to the Thunderclan camp by Lionheart and another Thunderclan cat, Whitestorm. Most of the cats disagree with a kittypet joining their ranks, especially Longtail, who begins to relentlessly taunt Rusty. Rusty attacks Longtail after being persuaded by Lionheart to prove his loyalty and worth to the clan. Rustys collar snaps off during the fight, which is taken as an omen from Starclan that Rusty belongs in their clan. Bluestar renames him Firepaw, after his flame colored pelt, and officially appoints him as a clan apprentice. Suddenly, another apprentice, Ravenpaw, rushes into camp with the news that Redtail has been killed in a skirmish near Sunningrocks. Tigerclaw soon follows with Redtail's body, claiming Redtail to have been killed by Oakheart, who Tigerclaw says he has killed in vengeance. Lionheart is made deputy in Redtail's place.

Firepaw is not immediately assigned a mentor of his own and instead trains with Ravenpaw and Graypaw and their mentors, Tigerclaw and Lionheart, respectively. Firepaw soon learns that kittypets are traditionally thought to be weak and useless amongst Clan-born cats. He is steadily able to adjust to his new life despite being seen as an inferior.

In the meantime, Tigerclaw, driven by a lust for wrath and power, travels with a fellow Thunderclan warrior, Darkstripe, a former member of Bloodclan, to make a deal with Scourge, leader of a cult of alley cats who call themselves Bloodclan. Tigerclaw offers Scourge a share of Thunderclans territory in return for BloodClan helping him to become leader of all four Clans, to which Scourge obliges.

On his first solo hunting assignment, Firepaw encounters Yellowfang, a former Shadowclan medicine cat. He immediately attacks, knowing rogue cats are not tolerated in enemy territory. After realizing the old cat is starving, however, he hunts a rabbit for her out of pity and eats the remains himself, breaking the Warrior Code. When a patrol lead by Bluestar arrives, the ThunderClan leader recognizes Yellowfang as ShadowClan's former medicine cat, and the Clan brings Yellowfang into camp as a prisoner. After appointing herself as Firepaw's mentor in order to speed up apprentice training, Bluestar puts Firepaw in charge of nursing Yellowfang back to health as punishment for eating before his Clanmates are fed.

At a Gathering, Brokenstar, the leader of ShadowClan, reports that ShadowClan has recently driven out a cat who has murdered ShadowClan kits. He makes it clear that this rogue should be killed as soon as any cat finds her and urges the Clans to keep a close eye on their kits. He also announces that he has cut a deal with Bloodclan to hand over forest territory to them in exchange for more hunting grounds for themselves. At that moment, Scourge and Bloodclan enter the Gathering and announce that they drove Windclan out of their territory and claimed it for themselves in their conquest to build their empire. Crookedstar, Riverclans leader, also announces that he has allowed Bloodclan hunting rights on the edge of their territory. When a Thunderclan cat, Rosetail, mocks Scourge for his size, Scourge reacts in violence and ruthlessly murders Rosetail as a warning. After the Gathering the ThunderClan cats rush back to camp, suspecting Yellowfang to be the cat Brokenstar warned them of, but Bluestar orders that Yellowfang shall not be harmed since there is no proof Yellowfang is the culprit. They also are put on battle readiness to prepare for a possible offensive by Bloodclan as the cats speculate among themselves who Bloodclan are, where they came from, and who led them to the forest.

Sometime later, Bloodclan launches an attack on Thunderclans camp, secretly assisted by Tigerclaw. Bluestar loses a life, Lionheart is killed in the battle and Tigerclaw is appointed as the new Thunderclan deputy. Spottedleaf, who was trying to guard the nursery, is also found dead after being killed by Bone, a Bloodclan warrior. Tigerclaw noticably is lenient during the battle, idley standing by as the battle rages on. Ravenpaw, Tigerclaws apprentice who had witnessed the earlier events at Sunningrocks, confesses to Firepaw that it was Tigerclaw, not Oakheart, who had killed Redtail, in his ambitions to become deputy and gain as much power as possible over not just Thunderclan, but every clan in the forest. Ravenpaw also reveals that Tigerclaw was the one who had originally cut a deal with Bloodclan and lured them into the forest, using Bloodclan as an asset in his conquest for power. Firepaw, still devastated by the death of Spottedleaf, whom he had developed a close bond with, is shocked upon discovering this news. Meanwhile, Scourge confronts Tigerclaw on the outskirts of Thunderclans territory about the deal that they had made concerning Bloodclan being promised land. Scourge warns Tigerclaw that he is the only cat in charge of Bloodclan and the only cat who makes decisions on their behalf, and that if Tigerclaw does not follow through with his deal the consequences will be deadly.

Soon after, Frostfurs litter of kits vanish, and Yellowfang is discovered to be missing as well. Tigerclaw immediately blames Yellowfang for the disappearance of the kits, in addition to asserting that Ravenpaw assisted Yellowfang in stealing the kits, as Ravenpaw is the only cat in the clan who knows about Tigerclaws murder of Redtail and deal with Bloodclan. Ravenpaw begins to become distrusted by most other members of the clan, ostracized and harassed by his own clanmates. Firepaw and Graypaw realize their friend is in great dager as long as he remains in the clan with Tigerclaw, and so they furtively sneak Ravenpaw out of the camp to live with Barley, a friendly loner who lives in a barn outside Windclan territory. Barley, a former Bloodclan member himself, tells Firepaw about Scourges history and how powerful he is, and that if he is not stopped soon, Bloodclan could obliterate all 4 clans. When Ravenpaws absence is noticed, Firepaw and Graypaw tell Tigerclaw that he was found murdered on Shadowclan territory.

Firepaw is determined to prove Yellowfang innocent, and so he goes with Graypaw to find and rescue the missing kits. When they find her, Yellowfang tells the apprentices she left camp as soon as she discovered the kits were missing and smelled the scent of Bone in the nursery. Yellowfang reveals that Scourge has been inducting kits into Bloodclan and mercilessly training them early so Bloodclan could grow and become the most feared clan in all of the forest, taking over the entire forest for themselves. It is also revealled that Brokenstar has been closely cooperating with Scourge behind the scenes, with Brokenstar supplying him with Shadowclan kits in exchange for prey. The three cats then spy Scourge and Bloodclan slink by into Shadowclan camp, where Brokenstar has been housing them for several moods.

Thunderclan, as well as a group of Shadowclan warriors who are against Bloodclan, launch an attack against Brokenstar and Bloodclan. Brokenstar and his followers are driven out, but not before he makes an attempt to blame Scourge for the death of the Shadowclan kits that he had, in fact, killed and blamed Yellowfang for their death. Outraged at Brokenstars sudden betrayal, Scourge orders his cult to attack Thunderclan and not stop until every single warrior is killed. In the thunderous midst of the battle, Tigerclaw corners Bluestar in an attempt to kill her, but Firepaw arrives just in time to save his leader. The two cats battle and just as Tigerclaw begins to overpower Firepaw, Scourge ambushes Tigerclaw, angered at him for lying to him and the rest of Bloodclan and using them as puppets. Scourge is about to kill Tigerclaw, but Bluestar comes between the two cats. Scourge and Bloodclan retreat into the forest, but the small leader promises all of Thunderclan that their quarrel isnt over, it has merely begun.

Thunderclan, with the rescued kits in tow, retreats from Shadowclan territory and back to their camp. Bluestar, still shaken by the battle and unable to believe Tigerclaws mutiny, announces his betrayal to the clan. In that moment, Firepaw reveals that it was Tigerclaw, not Oakheart, who had killed Redtail and that Tigerclaw had been conspiring with Bloodclan for moons and using them in his plot to overthrow Thunderclans leadership and become the leader of all 4 clans. Tigerclaw is exiled, and he swears revenge on Thunderclan.

Bluestar promotes Firepaw and Graypaw to warriors and they recieve their warrior names - Fireheart and Graystripe. Bluestar also asks Yellowfang to be Thunderclans new medicine cat, and she accepts, realizing that Shadowclan is not the clan she once knew. Fireheart and Graystripe begin their warrior vigil, guarding the camp until dawn comes. However, as Fireheart stands guard, he realizes that this is not the end of his fight with Tigerclaw, but is ready for the challenge. The movie ends with a pair of amber eyes (presumably Tigerclaw) glaring at Fireheart through the shadows.

An after the credits scene shows Scourge and Bloodclan lurking in the shadows of the forest, revealling that Bloodclan is still alive.

Cast

 * Ryan Malgarini as Fireheart (an ordinary housecat who is destined to save ThunderClan from the mysterious hybrid - the main protagonist).
 * Paul Rudd as Greystripe (Fireheart's best friend and a grey cat who helps him - the main deuteragonist).
 * Keegan-Michael Key as Dustpelt (a former RiverClan warrior - the film's secondary deuteragonist).
 * ???? as Bluestar (the former leader of ThunderClan - the film's main tritagonist).
 * Mila Kunis as Sandstorm (Fireheart's love interest; later girlfriend - the film's secondary tritagonist).
 * Max Charles as Redtail (a ThunderClan member that gets crushed by a rock caused by Adegoke - the film's deceased tetartagonist).
 * Jeff Bridges as Jake (Fireheart's father - one of the supporting characters).
 * ???? as Crookedstar (an very intelligent brown tabby with a twisted jaw and RiverClan's leader - one of the film's supporting characters).
 * Hugh Jackman as Tigerclaw (a cruel, menacing, former member of ThunderClan - the film's former m as Darkstripe (Tigerclaw's former henchcat and sidekick - the film's former secondary antagonist).
 * Jim Cummings as Borzen (the blood hybrid of various clans that attacks the clans and Fireheart's arch-nemesis - the film's hidden true main antagonist).
 * Will Poulter as Scourge (Fireheart's half brother and Scourge's deputy - the film's former anti-hero).
 * Cody Williams as Embit (a super dangerous tom and often nicknamed "the forest assasin" and also Greystripe's arch-nemesis - the film's true secondary antagonist).
 * Ariana Richards as Yellowfang (a dark gray fur she-cat and ThunderClan's former medicine cat - the film's former anti-heroine).
 * Frank Welker as BloodClan (the clan assembled by Scourge - the film's tertiary antagonists).
 * Kath Soucie as Rosetail, a grey tabby she cat with yellow eyes and a distinctive rose colored tail. She is killed by Scourge as a warning to Thunderclan.

Development and Production
The film's development and production started when director Rob Minkoff talked to Max Charles on his twitter video chat. He stated "hey. I remember that you were in Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Apperently, I am planning to make this film based off this book series. Care to join in?" And with Max accepting, the crew was assembled and the film was in active development. Later, it was rumored that the film would be released on June 8, 2018, but then it was pushed back to 2019. It was too complicated that it was decided to be released on July 23, 2021. The cast will feature Ryan Malgarini, Paul Rudd (who played Ant-Man in the Marvel Studios film of the same name), Keegan-Michael Mey, and such. Later, the film will be presented at ComicCon 2016 on June 5.

Trivia

 * Even though the film was based off Erin Hunter's book series, it contains some differences:
 * Instead of TigerClaw being the threat to the clans, it is Borzen who is the true threat.
 * In the books, Tigerclaw turned into a complete monster. However in the film, he turns to the dark side but later reforms when remembering Goldenflower.
 * The film also shared some similarities to FarCry 3:
 * Tigerclaw's personality is based off Vaas Montenegro's due to his mental illness.
 * Borzen's personality is based off Hoyt Volker due to him causing Tigerclaw's mental illness.
 * Fireheart is based off Jason Brody due to having hallucination problems.
 * Some true facts of Borzen are:
 * He is often nicknamed Fraglans which one of the latin translations of "monstrous".
 * There were myths, and legends focusing on Borzen.
 * His abbilities are based off the Indominus Rex (another hybrid but from Jurassic World).
 * Borzen is a blood hybrid.
 * The film is based off:
 * Warriors: Into the Wild (2003)
 * Warriors: Forest of Secrets (2003)
 * Warriors: The Darkest Hour (2004)
 * Warriors - Omen of the Stars: The Last Hope (2012)