GKIDS has picked up U.S. rights to the new Shaun the Sheep film, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, and will release the new feature from legendary stop-motion studio Aardman in time for Halloween.

Based on characters created by Aardman founder, Oscar-winning filmmaker Nick Park (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit), the new film marks the feature directorial debut of Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, from a script by Mark Burton and Giles Pilbrow. Voice talent includes Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, and Kate Harbour. Little is known about the plot of the new film except that it revolves around Halloween and incorporates some “scary movie” tropes (see teaser trailer below).

This will be the first Aardman film for GKIDS. The last Shaun the Sheep film, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon (2020), went out on Netflix via Aardman’s worldwide deal with the streamer. The release of the third film comes as Aardman is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2026, with a series of events throughout the year.

GKIDS acquired the rights from Studiocanal, which has handled sales on the previous two Shaun the Sheep films as well as Nick Park‘s 2018 feature Early Man. Both Shaun the Sheep Movie and A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmaggedon were Oscar-nominated.

“We are so excited!” said GKIDS’ founder and CEO Eric Beckman on the deal. “I have been an Aardman super-fan since the earliest days of the studio, from the Academy Award-winning Creature Comforts and original Wallace & Gromit shorts, through Rex the Runt, Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and, of course, the beloved Shaun the Sheep. For decades, Aardman has forged a unique place in the hearts of fans by infusing so much love, humor, and humanity into the hand-crafted art of stop-motion. Aardman is absolutely one-of-a-kind, and we could not be more thrilled to be working together at long last.”

Set up by Eric Beckman and Dave Jesteadt to release the Academy Award-nominated animated feature The Secret of Kells (2010), GKIDS has become a go-to distributor for high-end theatrical animation, releasing such Oscar-nominated features as My Life as a Zucchini (2017), The Breadwinner (2018); Mirai (2019); and Oscar-winner The Boy and the Heron (2024). The New York-based company was acquired by Japanese studio Toho in 2024.

“We are so delighted to announce today that Shaun the Sheep is ready for his next big U.S. adventure, and Studiocanal couldn’t ask for a better partner than GKIDS to make it happen,” said Studiocanal’s Chloé Marquet. “Their passion and expertise in animation make them the ideal home for Shaun and his very welcome return to the big screen in 2026.”

The deal for Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom was negotiated by Beckman and Jesteadt for GKIDS and by Marquet and Sophie Leuthreau for Studiocanal. Studiocanal will release the film in France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Benelux and Poland, and is handling worldwide sales excluding the U.K., where Sky is confirmed as the exclusive distributor for both theatrical and a Sky Cinema pay-TV release.

Check out the teaser trailer for Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom below.