Children of The Wicker Man (2026): Cast, Story and Release

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Children of The Wicker Man follows Justin and Dominic Hardy as they investigate their father Robin Hardy’s connection to The Wicker Man. Using the director’s rediscovered papers as a starting point, this documentary considers the film’s legacy alongside the personal and practical challenges of independent filmmaking.

Children of The Wicker Man revisits the history surrounding The Wicker Man through the perspective of Robin Hardy’s sons, Justin and Dominic. The documentary begins when papers belonging to the late director resurface, offering a new route into the story behind the cult classic.

Directed by Justin Hardy and written by Dominic Hardy, the film combines family inquiry with filmmaking history. Its focus extends beyond the film itself to questions of legacy, authorship and the myths that can grow around an independent production.

Children of The Wicker Man movie details

Story without spoilers

Set fifty years after The Wicker Man, the documentary follows Justin and Dominic Hardy as they explore their father’s role in the influential film. Robin Hardy’s lost papers provide the starting point for their investigation, leading them to examine both the production’s legacy and the personal history connected to it.

The film also considers the wider pressures and complications of independent filmmaking. Rather than presenting the subject only as a piece of horror history, it connects The Wicker Man to family experience and to the sometimes complicated process of separating a real person’s contribution from the mythology that surrounds a celebrated work.

What to expect

This is a documentary with horror elements, centered on investigation, family history and film legacy rather than a fictional horror narrative. Viewers can expect discussion of The Wicker Man, Robin Hardy’s involvement, the rediscovered papers and the realities of independent filmmaking.

Justin and Dominic Hardy appear as themselves, alongside a group of other participants connected with the film and its history. The 92-minute runtime gives the documentary room to approach its subject through personal testimony and archival discovery, while keeping its attention on the relationship between a cult classic, its creator and the family left to interpret that legacy.

Cast and creative team

Justin Hardy directs Children of The Wicker Man, with Dominic Hardy credited as writer. Justin Hardy and Dominic Hardy appear as themselves. The documentary also features Tim Plester, Gary Carpenter, Peter Snell, Seamus Flannery, Victoria Webster, Mark Ulano, Bill Paterson and Barbara Callan, all appearing as themselves.

• Justin Hardy as Self
• Dominic Hardy as Self
• Tim Plester as Self
• Gary Carpenter as Self
• Peter Snell as Self
• Seamus Flannery as Self
• Victoria Webster as Self
• Mark Ulano as Self
• Bill Paterson as Self
• Barbara Callan as Self

Release and production context

Children of The Wicker Man is a 2026 documentary and horror film from the United Kingdom. It is in English, runs for 1 hour and 32 minutes, and is produced by Hardy Pictures. The supplied release date is October 23, 2026.

Production companies: Hardy Pictures

Children of The Wicker Man official trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube

Movies Dock view

Children of The Wicker Man offers a family-centered examination of the history and continuing legacy associated with The Wicker Man. Its combination of rediscovered documents, personal investigation and independent-film context makes it a focused documentary about how a filmmaker’s work can shape—and complicate—the story of the family and production behind it.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb