This is framed as a heartwarming reunion of the 'Rooster Teeth family,' focusing on creative collaboration and honoring the legacy of their early YouTube days while bringing a fresh, spooky twist to holiday films.
Insiders are buzzing about the timing. Burns only bought back Rooster Teeth from Warner Bros in 2025 after it closed in 2024. This movie feels like a calculated move to prove the brand still has cultural relevance and box office power beyond just nostalgia.
1. Rooster Teeth launched in 2003 and closed in 2024 before Burns revived it in 2025. 2. 'Bad Toys' is slated for a theatrical release in December 2027, with pre-production starting early 2027. 3. Hullum’s quote about his wife hiding dolls in the 'knife drawer' confirms the horror-comedy tone.
The Rooster Teeth experiment isn't dead; it’s just getting a darker, more cinematic upgrade. If this movie flops, the revival might be over before it truly begins.
Hold onto your red and blue team jerseys, folks, because the internet’s original web series kings are making a terrifyingly festive comeback. Rooster Teeth founders Matt Hullum and Burnie Burns have officially reunited to produce a new Christmas horror-comedy titled "Bad Toys." This isn't just another web short; Variety reports that the project is now in active development with a clear path to the big screen, signaling that the duo is ready to translate their cult YouTube following into a theatrical box office hit.
The dynamic has shifted slightly, with Hullum taking the writer-director chair while Burns steps into the executive producer role, marking a significant collaboration between the two men who built an empire on inside jokes and animated warfare. The premise of "Bad Toys" leans heavily into the darker, more obscure roots of holiday traditions, moving away from the saccharine Hallmark tropes we’re used to. According to the official description, the film is inspired by "medieval Christmas elf folklore," posing the chilling question: "What if a mischievous Christmas elf brought you what you wanted when you were nice, but made you regret what you asked for if you were naughty?" Hullum revealed that the inspiration came from personal domestic chaos, noting that his wife loves to prank them by hiding Christmas elf dolls in unexpected places.
He specifically mentioned hiding them in the "knife drawer," admitting that these hidden figures have given him "quite a few jump scares over the years." It’s a perfect blend of real-life domestic horror and ancient Scandinavian lore, which Hullum researched extensively to ground the film’s bizarre history of deadly elves. For those who didn't follow the turbulent saga of Rooster Teeth, let’s recap the drama that makes this reunion so juicy.
The company launched in 2003 and became a staple of early YouTube culture with hits like "Red vs. Blue" and Achievement Hunter. However, the corporate machine eventually swallowed it whole; the company was acquired by Otter Media in 2015, which was then bought by AT&T and subsequently Warner Bros.
The brand’s decline was stark, leading to Burns exiting in 2019 and the company closing its doors entirely in 2024. But just as the dust settled, Burns made a shocking move in 2025, coming out of retirement to buy Rooster Teeth back from Warner Bros. and revive the brand. This movie is the first major creative output of that resurrection, making it a high-stakes test of whether the audience still cares.
Burns’ involvement seems driven by pure enthusiasm for Hullum’s vision, with the former CEO stating, "The moment I heard Matt was launching a new project, I jumped at the opportunity to collaborate again." He emphasized that it is "always an honor to work together" and expressed excitement about bringing Hullum’s creative vision to the screen. With pre-production expected to begin in early 2027 and a theatrical release slated for Christmastime of that same year, the timeline is aggressive but deliberate.
Produced by Suzanne Weinert of Flatiron Pictures, "Bad Toys" represents more than just a holiday flick; it is a declaration that the Rooster Teeth name still holds weight in the modern entertainment landscape. Whether this knife-drawer horror will cut through the noise remains to be seen, but the receipts are already stacking up.
