When does Forgotten Island premiere? September 25, 2026 DreamWorks/Universal — Crawford/Mercado; H.E.R. & Soberano; Nakali folklore. Not Sony Animation.
Current target date: Friday, September 25, 2026 (Theatrical premiere). We update this page when studios or publishers move the window.
Forgotten Island opens September 25, 2026 (DreamWorks/Universal). Crawford/Mercado; Swift; H.E.R./Soberano; Filipino folklore Nakali. ≠ Sony Animation; ≠ Moana.
Theatrical premiere
Friday, September 25, 2026
September 25, 2026 — DreamWorks sends two best friends to Nakali
Forgotten Island opens Friday, September 25, 2026. Crawford and Mercado’s original — produced by Swift after Last Wish — follows Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Soberano) as graduation ends their shared path and a portal dumps them on an island where folklore monsters are real and memory is the exit fee.
Salonga voices the Dreaded Manananggal; Franco’s Raww and Slate’s Batiba join the creature roster. WIP screenings at CinemaCon and Annecy 2026 drew strong reactions — this is a dated DreamWorks theatrical, not a streaming dump stub.
Confirmed: Sep 25 DreamWorks/Universal feature — not Sony Animation, not Moana 3
Confirmed: September 25, 2026 theatrical; Crawford/Mercado; Swift; H.E.R./Soberano leads; Filipino folklore island pitch; Universal distribution. Not confirmed as a Sony Animation title, as a Disney Moana adjacent, or as a day-one Peacock unlock. Scrapers still saying “Sony lost civilization explorer movie” are describing the wrong studio brief.
Who’s on the island call sheet
Cinemas first — folklore second.
- Theatrical
- September 25, 2026 (Universal / DreamWorks)
- Directors
- Joel Crawford + Januel Mercado
- Jo / Raissa
- H.E.R. / Liza Soberano
- Producer
- Mark Swift (Last Wish team)
- Setting
- Nakali (Filipino folklore creatures)
- Stake
- Memories of friendship as the exit price
Before September — don’t buy the wrong island ticket
- Logo: DreamWorks + Universal — not Sony Animation.
- Expect folklore creature comedy-adventure, not a silent “lost explorer” prestige toon.
- Cat in the Hat is Nov 6 the same fall — different studio family film.
- Shrek 5 sits elsewhere on the DreamWorks slate — different ogre Friday.
- Ignore undated “Forgotten Island 2025” stubs from early announce cycles.
The ticket home might erase the friendship that got them there — that is the DreamWorks hook, not another generic lost island
Most animated island movies sell treasure or portals. Forgotten Island sells a crueler bargain: Jo and Raissa can leave Nakali if they forget each other. Layer Filipino folklore creatures under the Puss in Boots team’s action-comedy craft, and September 25 stops reading like stock family adventure SEO.
Pages that still call this a Sony “young explorer lost civilization” brief are wrong on studio and wrong on the emotional engine.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about this release date.
1When does Forgotten Island open?
September 25, 2026 in theaters from Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation. Official site and studio materials lock that Friday — not a soft “fall 2026” window.
2Who is making it, and who voices the leads?
Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado write and direct; Mark Swift produces (the Puss in Boots: The Last Wish bench). H.E.R. voices Jo; Liza Soberano voices Raissa. Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Lea Salonga, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, and Ronny Chieng round out the announced cast.
3What’s the story hook?
Best friends Jo and Raissa — high school grads about to drift apart — stumble through a portal to Nakali, an island drawn from Filipino folklore creatures (Manananggal, Tiyanak, Batibat, and more). The catch: getting home may cost the memories of their friendship.
4Is this a Sony Pictures Animation film?
No. DreamWorks Animation produces; Universal distributes. Old blurbs labeling it Sony are wrong — different studio, different logo on the poster.
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