Although its predecessor won’t hit theaters until Friday, Warner Bros. has already decided to go ahead with The Lego Movie 2.
The Wrap is reporting that Warner Bros. will announce a sequel to The Lego Movie. It will be written by Jared Stern (The Internship, Mr. Popper’s Penguins) and Michelle Morgan (Girl Most Likely).
It should come as no surprise to see Warner Bros. greenlight The Lego Movie 2 (or whatever they end up calling it) this early. It’s commonplace that animated films get sequels, and they often get them planned before the wide public even sees them. There’s a formula that works well for studios. What do kids love even more than animated characters? Animated characters that they already know they love.
If that weren’t enough already, all signs are pointing to The Lego Movie being a major hit this weekend. It’s faced up against the George Clooney directed The Monuments Men, which has a huge A-list cast, as well as Vampire Academy, which is based on the popular book series. These three would seemingly make a crowded and competitive weekend, but all signs point to The Lego Movie running away with the box office (and finally putting a stop to Ride Along‘s run in the top spot). Advanced research suggests The Lego Movie will make at least $40 million.
Part of the draw to The Lego Movie is that LEGO has been around for so long. It clearly has mass appeal that will not just bring in kids, but it’ll bring in adults too.
The Lego Movie was written and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the team behind the first Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street. There’s no word if they’ll be back for The Lego Movie 2, but if they aren’t, it’ll be a shame. They have proven they are one of the best comedic writing/directing teams working today. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 just wasn’t as good as the first, and it was likely a result of their limited involvement. Luckily they stayed in for 22 Jump Street, so we hope they do for The Lego Movie 2 as well.