EXCLUSIVE: The set to the next Puppet Master has come to life as Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich is deep in production in Dallas, Texas.

To whet fans’ appetites, Bloody Disgusting will be streaming LIVE from the Dallas location tomorrow night, Saturday, April 15th, via our official Facebook page!

To celebrate the occasion, we also have some exclusive behind-the-scenes photos that show all of the bloodshed to expect in The Littlest Reich, hailing from Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund, the duo behind the deliciously gory Blood Runs Cold and Wither.

The most intriguing image, however, is that of the promise of an event remembering the 30th anniversary of the Toulon murders. This is interesting for one reason in particular – while the film isn’t in the same universe as the 1989 Puppetmaster, directed by David Schmoeller, it confirms that this new Puppet Master film gives homage to it. It also leads to some very interesting questions, especially regarding Udo Kier‘s character. He’s pegged to play Andre Toulon, the central character in the franchise. And what’s even more interesting is that he will be the fifth actor to portray him, following William Hickey (Puppetmaster), Steve Welles (Puppet Master II), Guy Rolfe (Puppet Master III, 4, 5, and Retro), and Greg Sestero (Retro).

In the films, Andre Toulon was a French puppeteer that learned the secret of reanimation from an Egyptian sorcerer and used it in his puppet performances to thrill the audience. He also used the magic to bring to life deadly puppets with the souls of his deceased friends who were murdered so that they could get revenge on those who killed them and help him protect the magic.

The new film, penned by S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk), takes place 30 years later:

“Puppet Master: The Little Reich” centers on a recently divorced young man discovers a mint condition Blade doll in his deceased brother’s closet and plans to sell the toy at a convention in Texas celebrating the 30th anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders. All hell breaks loose at during the auction when a strange force animates all of the various puppets throughout the convention as they go on a bloody killing spree.

Comedy thesp Thomas Lennon (Hellbaby, “The State”) stars with Jenny Pellicer, Nelson Franklin (Scott Pilgrim, Jobs), Charlyne Yi (Cloverfield), and Alex Beh, with genre fav Barbara Crampton (From Beyond, Re-Animator, You’re Next, Sun Choke), Tina Parker (“Breaking Bad”, The Final Destination), Skeeta Jenkins and the great Michael Paré (Streets on Fire).

Dallas Sonnier and Amanda Presmyk are producing for Cinestate, along with Jack Heller of Assemble Media. Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Mark Vahradian of Di Bonaventura Pictures are also producers on the project. Charles Band (the original franchise producer) is executive producing, as are Wayne Godfrey & Robert Jones of The Fyzz Facility, Jonathan Feuer of Flexibon Films, Red Sanders of Red Productions, Will Evans of Cinestate, Adam Donaghey (A Ghost Story), Johnathan Brownlee (Three Days in August) and Rick Prince (LWA: All Saints’ Eve).

Keep up with the production on Puppetmastermov Instagram and @PuppetMasterMov, and tune in tomorrow night to our official Facebook page for a live stream (time TBD; keep your eyes on our socials).

Exclusive photos come courtesy of Jane Stephens Photography.