A practical puppet, a distinguished Shakespearean actor and one of television's rising comedy performers make for an unlikely combination.
Yet that is the direction A24's Goblin appears to be taking.
On October 29, Deadline reported that Chase Sui Wonders was in negotiations to join the fantasy comedy, which David Mikalson is preparing to direct from his own screenplay.
The Hollywood Reporter also covered the potential casting.
Wonders would join a project already associated with Kenneth Branagh, Skyler Gisondo and Will Forte.
Branagh is attached to provide the voice of the title creature, while Gisondo is associated with the role of its human companion.
Forte was previously reported to be in talks for two roles.
The distinction between confirmed participation and negotiations matters. Wonders has not been officially announced as having completed a deal, and her character remains under wraps.
A24 has also not released a complete synopsis, official stills or a premiere date.
What is known is that Mikalson wants to tell a deliberately outrageous story built around a practical puppet rather than a creature created entirely through computer animation.
Chase Sui Wonders has become a formidable comedy performer
Wonders has developed a varied screen career in a relatively short period.
Her credits include Bodies Bodies Bodies, the satirical horror film directed by Halina Reijn, and the 2025 installment of I Know What You Did Last Summer.
But her performance as Quinn Hackett in Apple TV's The Studio has been particularly important in establishing her comic range.
The series, created by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, examines the chaos of modern Hollywood through the employees of a fictional movie studio.
Wonders portrays a young executive desperate to advance in an industry where competing personalities, insecurity and ambition shape every decision.
Her performance depends on an energetic combination of nervousness, confidence and the willingness to make Quinn occasionally ridiculous.
In an April 2025 interview with Vogue, the actress discussed the demanding experience of working opposite Ike Barinholtz during her first day on set.
Rather than easing her into the ensemble, Rogen and Goldberg immediately involved her in a long and confrontational comedy scene.
The experience encouraged her to embrace a more extreme performance style than some of her earlier dramatic roles had required.
That makes the prospect of Goblin particularly interesting.
A movie involving a living puppet and an absurd human-creature friendship could require actors comfortable with exaggerated situations and unconventional comic rhythms.
Still, the actual part Wonders might play remains unknown.
There is no confirmed information establishing her character's relationship with the goblin or the other humans.
Kenneth Branagh will voice the green creature
The most immediately surprising name associated with Goblin is Kenneth Branagh.
The British actor and filmmaker is attached to voice the title character.
Branagh is best known for bringing Shakespeare to the screen through films including Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet.
He has also directed and starred in several Hercule Poirot adaptations and appeared in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.
His career has repeatedly crossed the boundaries between prestigious drama, fantasy and mainstream entertainment.
Goblin nevertheless presents an unusual assignment.
The actor will be creating a vocal performance for a physically constructed creature that appears alongside live-action performers.
That approach places considerable importance on the relationship between his voice and the puppet's movements.
The creature has been described as green and intentionally provocative in its design.
The project is being developed as an adult comedy, with its humor expected to go considerably beyond conventional family fantasy.
However, the studio has not revealed the goblin's full personality, origins or motivation.
The character's exact behavior cannot be established from the production concept alone.
Skyler Gisondo and Will Forte add different comic strengths
Skyler Gisondo has been associated with the role of the goblin's human friend.
The actor is known for Santa Clarita Diet, The Righteous Gemstones and his portrayal of Jimmy Olsen in Superman.
He has frequently played characters whose sincerity makes the absurdity surrounding them even funnier.
That ability could prove useful in a film built around a creature that behaves according to its own strange rules.
Will Forte was reported to be in talks to join the project in July 2026.
Deadline indicated at the time that the actor was being considered for two roles.
Forte's previous work includes Saturday Night Live, MacGruber, The Last Man on Earth and Nebraska.
His career spans both outrageous sketch comedy and more restrained dramatic performances.
The cast being assembled around Mikalson's concept therefore contains performers with distinct approaches to comedy.
The potential combination is promising, but the definitive cast list remains subject to formal confirmation of the reported negotiations.
No detailed description has been published explaining how all these characters interact.
A real puppet is central to the filmmaking approach
Goblin stands out partly because of its planned production techniques.
Mikalson conceived the central creature as a practical puppet, intended to perform alongside live actors.
That is different from creating a character entirely through digital animation after filming.
A physical puppet occupies real space on set.
Actors can respond to its actual position and movements, while cinematographers and lighting crews can build scenes around its material presence.
The technique also introduces complications.
Puppeteers, performers and camera operators must coordinate closely, and the creature's mechanical capabilities can influence how scenes are staged.
Modern digital effects may still be used to complement the practical work.
But the production's stated intention is to make the physical creature the foundation of its visual approach.
That decision connects Goblin to a tradition of fantasy filmmaking in which fabricated creatures were an essential part of the production's identity.
It also offers a potentially distinctive visual alternative to contemporary films built around fully computer-generated characters.
No official footage has yet demonstrated how effectively the finished puppet will work on screen.
David Mikalson's unusual route into Hollywood
The story behind Goblin is almost as unconventional as the premise.
David Mikalson was not an established feature-film director when he began developing the idea.
Originally from Washington state, he left film school and pursued independent filmmaking through short projects.
He also worked toward a very low-budget version of Goblin, investing significant personal resources in creating its central puppet.
According to Deadline's July 2025 reporting, his screenplay eventually began attracting attention across Hollywood.
The project secured representation through WME and Kaplan/Perrone and generated numerous meetings with industry figures.
Other companies considered the material, but A24 decided to support a full feature rather than wait for a completed micro-budget version.
That commitment represented an important breakthrough for a filmmaker who had developed the concept outside the conventional studio system.
Early reporting suggested that the budget might reach approximately six million dollars, depending on casting and other decisions.
That figure was a preliminary estimate rather than a confirmed final production budget.
The gradual involvement of established performers marks another stage in the transformation of Mikalson's independent idea into an A24 feature.
The pitch combines Ted and E.T.
The project's most widely repeated description presents it as a meeting between Ted and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
It is an effective shorthand for two very different storytelling traditions.
Steven Spielberg's E.T. explored the friendship between a child and an extraordinary visitor, emphasizing emotional connection and wonder.
Seth MacFarlane's Ted used a fantastical living companion as the basis for an adult comedy driven by irreverent dialogue and outrageous behavior.
Goblin appears to be drawing from both approaches.
Its central relationship involves a human and an extraordinary creature, but the tone is intended for adults rather than young children.
The comparison does not imply any official connection to either franchise.
Goblin is an original screenplay, not a crossover, sequel or licensed adaptation of those films.
Its premise suggests opportunities for both character comedy and deliberately uncomfortable humor.
However, the actual conflict driving the story has not been disclosed.
The full script remains unpublished, and the announced comparisons should be treated as descriptions of tone rather than confirmed plot details.
Why A24 is an interesting home for the project
A24 has built a reputation for supporting films with distinctive approaches to genre and storytelling.
Its output includes intimate dramas, psychological horror, speculative fiction and unusual comedies.
The company's involvement with Goblin follows that wider interest in projects whose creative identity is not easily reduced to familiar franchise formulas.
Wonders previously worked with A24 on Bodies Bodies Bodies, a film that used horror conventions to develop a sharp satire of a group of young adults.
Goblin is expected to pursue a different form of humor.
Its central attraction is the combination of an intentionally outrageous puppet character and recognizable live-action performers.
The use of practical effects could help establish a memorable visual identity without relying entirely on large-scale digital production.
But that approach does not guarantee artistic success.
The puppet will need to function convincingly as a character, the script must sustain its premise and the cast will need to make an extraordinary situation feel dramatically engaging.
That makes the potential addition of Wonders especially relevant.
Her recent work suggests confidence in uncomfortable comedy and rapid emotional shifts, qualities that could be useful within such an unusual ensemble.
Production is planned before the end of 2026
Deadline's October 29 report indicates that Goblin is expected to enter production before the end of 2026.
Earlier reporting had also identified the fall as the intended filming period.
Those expectations should not be confused with a confirmed first day of principal photography.
A24 has not announced a precise filming schedule, a full list of locations or a completion date.
The negotiations involving Chase Sui Wonders are also unresolved in the publicly available reports.
No theatrical premiere date has been announced.
The film has not received a trailer or an official collection of promotional stills.
Existing coverage therefore relies on portraits of the actors and material from their previous projects rather than images from the Goblin production itself.
Further announcements will be needed to establish the complete cast and the film's distribution timetable.
An improbable comedy waiting to become a finished film
The October 29 news represents another development in the assembly of Goblin's creative team.
The production has an established writer-director, a studio partner and a distinctive practical-effects concept.
Kenneth Branagh is attached to voice the creature, Skyler Gisondo is associated with its human companion and Will Forte has previously been reported as negotiating two parts.
Chase Sui Wonders may now join the ensemble.
But her involvement is not yet a completed casting announcement, and the nature of her potential role remains unknown.
For Mikalson, the challenge is to turn the eccentric screenplay that attracted Hollywood's attention into a coherent feature film.
For A24, the project offers another opportunity to support an unusual approach to genre cinema.
And for Wonders, should the negotiations succeed, Goblin could provide another opportunity to build on the comic confidence she displayed in The Studio.
The idea of Kenneth Branagh as a green puppet goblin is enough to attract curiosity. Whether that curiosity becomes a satisfying movie will depend on what happens when the cameras finally roll.
