Murder Drones (Universal film)

Murder Drones is a 2026 black horror comedy science-fiction animated film based on the web series of the same name. It was directed by both Joaquim Dos Santos and Shawn Levy, based on the story written by Liam Vickers, alongside Glitch Productions co-founders Luke & Kevin Lerdwichagul, and was co-written by esteemed Welsh screenwriter Russell T Davies. The film covers the events of "Season 1" of the web series, and stars Miranda Cosgrove as Uzi Doorman and Ryan Reynolds as Serial Designation N, alongside Katherine Waterston, Zazie Beetz and Brianna Mazzola in starring roles. It is the first DreamWorks animation to receive a PG-13 rating by the MPAA.
Development of a film adaptation was pitched after the final episode of the initial web series. Glitch Productions founders Luke & Kevin Lerdwichagul, along with Liam Vickers, announced at GlitchX 2024 that Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation would be producing the film adaptation of Murder Drones, and had a public AMA (Ask Me Anything) with Russell T Davies. The first trailer was shown at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, where they were at Hall H. Matthew Lillard was initially considered for the role of Khan Doorman, but turned it down due to the fact he was busy with Five Nights At Freddy's 2. Similarly, Zeno Robinson was in talks for the role of Serial Designation N, but upon the arrival of Shawn Levy as a director, they opted for Ryan Reynolds instead.
Murder Drones premiered in Sydney, Australia on September 5th 2026, at a grand event at the Sydney Opera House, and theatrically released around 35 days later on October 10th before making its United States debut on October 29th. The film was a critical and commercial success, with praise going towards Cosgrove and Reynolds for their faithful portrayals, alongside the score by AJ DiSpirito and animation quality. It grossed $810.2 million worldwide at the box office on a $135 million budget, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2026, the third highest-grossing film in DreamWorks history and the 23rd highest-grossing animated film of all time.
== Voice cast ==
* Miranda Cosgrove as Uzi Doorman, an "angsty teen" who plans to kill all humans
* Ryan Reynolds as Serial Designation N, a turncoat Disassembly Drone who eventually befriends Uzi upon an encounter outside the colony bunker
* Katherine Waterston as Serial Designation V, a sadistic and impulsive Disassembly Drone who was N's initial romantic interest
* Zazie Beetz as Serial Designation J, the de facto leader of the known Disassembly Drones who is described as a lethal workaholic
* Emma Breezy as Doll, a Russian-speaking Worker Drone afflicted with the AbsoluteSolver. Breezy is one of the only members of the initial cast to reprise their role.
* Sam Rockwell as Khan Doorman, Uzi's somewhat neglectful father and the leader of the Worker Defense Force (WDF)
* Steph Crothers as Tessa Elliott, a human girl who was friends with N, V and J in their past. Rose reprises her role from the web series.
* Ncuti Gatwa as Thad, a robot jock and one of the only classmates in the school that tolerates Uzi. Gatwa was cast by request of Russell T Davies, who he had worked with on Doctor Who.
* Kristen Wiig as Lizzy, the popular girl of the school who somewhat bullies Uzi
* Steve Coogan as Liam, Uzi's teacher
* Catherine Tate as Nori Doorman, Uzi's mother who was believed to be dead, but remains alive via her core
* Sarah-Nicole Robles as Alice, a western-accented Worker Drone who holds a vendetta against Nori and collects details from dead drones.
* Brianna Mazzola as the AbsoluteSolver, a program that grants the host powers to break physics and manipulate matter. Mazzola also provides the voice of Cyn, the initial host of the AbsoluteSolver.
Additionally, Andrew Rannells and Rhea Ripley (credited as her real name Demi Bennett) voice James and Louisa Elliott, Tessa's deceased parents. Elsie Lovelock, Michael Kovach and Nola Klop, members of the original web series voice cast, appear in various minor roles throughout the film. Australian football/soccer manager Ange Postecoglou makes a cameo appearance as Todd, a member of the WDF. Aneurin Barnard and Nicola Coughlan appear as two of Uzi's classmates. Jodie Whittaker plays Rebecca, another one of Uzi's classmates, alongside Rebecca's boyfriend Darren, who is played by Romesh Ranganathan.
Several amateur/semi-pro voice actors who were fans of the initial web series were cast in minor roles. These VA's include the creator of "Murder Drones: Strays" Zander Russell, the creator of "Murder Drones: Intermission" Ghoulinfuschia, the creator of "Murder Drones: The Cursed Disk" MintyJane85, and fandub voice actors in RoseIsntCute, TheAinley, BaggyBOI, LunaBlueMoon and FrostByte, the latter four forming their own web series called "Murder Drones: Absolution", which would actually be adapted into a film of its own.
== Production ==
=== Development ===
Development of Murder Drones began in August 2024, with show creator Liam Vickers penning the early drafts for the script. The film was confirmed in November 2024 during the second GlitchX event, with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse director Joaquim Dos Santos alongside Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy directing the film. Later on in the event, the successful Doctor Who and Torchwood showrunner Russell T Davies was announced as a co-writer, joining Vickers on the creative side. No exact release date was given, though it was stated it'd be in the second half of 2026. Production was underway by December 2024, with Ryan Reynolds starting his voice recordings after finishing the latest season of Welcome To Wrexham.
In April 2025, it was announced that Reynolds would portray Serial Designation N, with Miranda Cosgrove joining as Uzi Doorman. Katherine Waterston, Zazie Beetz, Sam Rockwell, Ncuti Gatwa, Kristen Wiig, and Steve Coogan were announced alongside Cosgrove and Reynolds, voicing V, J, Khan Doorman, Thad, Lizzy, and Liam respectively, while Brianna Mazzola was then announced to be playing the AbsoluteSolver. The addition of Catherine Tate to the voice cast was announced on November 23rd 2025, where she was revealed as the voice of Nori Doorman. On January 1st 2026, it was revealed that original cast members Emma Breezy and Steph Crothers would reprise their roles as Doll and Tessa, while Elsie Lovelock, Michael Kovach and Nola Klop would portray various minor roles.
== Marketing ==
During the month of July in 2025, several shuttle-esque structures were spotted around the world, in locations such as New York, Des Moines, Toronto, Manchester, Sydney, and Malmö. The first trailer for the film was released on July 25, 2025, during Glitch Productions' Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Glitch's Hall H panel featured co-stars Cosgrove, Reynolds, Waterston, and Beetz, alongside series creator Liam Vickers and The Lerdwichagul Brothers, while Russell T Davies appeared via a pre-recorded video message. The trailer features the songs "Pedestal" by Aiko and "We Become The Night" by Motionless in White, as well as in television showings, "Run" by Our Lady Peace. Japanese television showings of the trailer featured the song "Kick Back" by Kenshi Yonezu. CBR reported that the trailer showcased "the stunning yet apocalyptic scenery of Copper 9" and Uzi's murderous attitude towards all things human.
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
Murder Drones grossed $453.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $357 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $810.2 million.
In the United States and Canada, Murder Drones was projected to gross $120-145 million in its five-day opening weekend. It went above projection, grossing around $150 million over the five-day period, and topped the box office by an absolute country mile, managing the upset over Cary Joji Fukunaga's Bond 26. At one stage, the film's box-office revenue was tied with that of Avengers: Doomsday, which had released in May that same year, though Doomsday eventually retook the lead due to its full-year circulation.
Internationally the film opened in different countries with different dates, with Australia being the earliest country to release it. In a majority of the countries it opened in, it topped the box office, though in the United Kingdom it opened second behind Bond 26.
=== Critical response ===
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 342 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 9.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Just as thrilling as the source material, Murder Drones entices the audience to a degree never seen before with its wacky robotic nature." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 89 out of 100, based on 62 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it a 92% overall positive score, with 85% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.
== Future ==
===Series continuation===
Upon the commercial success of the film, Glitch Productions announced that a second season of the Murder Drones web series was in development.
===Prequel film===
At GlitchX 2026, a prequel film titled Elliott Manor was confirmed, focusing on the events at Elliott Manor. At GlitchX 2027, Alfonso Cuarón, who was best known for his work on the 2004 film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, was confirmed to be directing the film, while Ryan Reynolds, Katherine Waterston, Zazie Beetz, Steph Crothers, and Brianna Mazzola were confirmed to be reprising their roles as N, V, J, Tessa, and the AbsoluteSolver/Cyn. David Tennant, Mae Whitman, Wendie Malick, and Sacha Dhawan were later confirmed to be joining the voice cast in undisclosed roles. In a statement on December 18th, 2027, Glitch Productions confirmed that Andrew Rannells and Rhea Ripley would not be reprising their roles as James and Louisa Elliott due to scheduling issues, as Rannells was busy with Broadway projects and Ripley's schedule with the WWE would cause problems with deadlines. A few days later on December 21st, it was confirmed that James and Louisa Elliott would be portrayed by David Thewlis and Lauren Vélez respectively.
Category:PG-13-rated films
Category:PG-13 rating films
Category:PG-13 Films
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Category:Animation
Category:Animated comedy films
Category:Animated Films
Category:Horror
Category:Horror films
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Category:Horror Films
Category:Murder Drones
Category:Glitch Productions
Category:DreamWorks Animation
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Category:Dreamworks Films
Category:Universal Pictures
Category:Universal Pictures films
Category:Universal Pictures animated films