A sequel to Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s The Lego Movie has been in the works for a couple years now, and this week the two brought on another great writer to help with the script. According to Variety, BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg has come aboard to rewrite the script from Lord and Miller’s original draft, and Rob Schrab is still attached to co-direct with them. The Lego Movie Sequel will make Bob-Waksberg’s first project for the big screen. It’s currently slated for a February 8, 2019 release after The Lego Batman Movie (February 10, 2017) and The Lego Ninjago Movie (September 22, 2017). Talking with Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein About ‘Portlandia’ Season 3 53 More ‘Arrested Development’ Jokes You Probably Missed 12 Colleges with Great Improv Groups From Sullivan to CK: a History of Modern American Standup Comedy in 10 Steps Improv as Practical Life Advice The Rise of Consumer Comedy The Idealistic Legacy of ‘Parks and Recreation’
You could be forgiven for thinking The Lego Batman Movie – a spin-off from a hit film, based on a DC comics icon and a famous brick-shaped toy – was just one big corporate love-in. Fortunately, 2014’s The Lego Movie showed the way with liberal doses of in-jokes and visual fireworks. One of that film’s breakout characters was the Caped Crusader (voiced by Will Arnett) and here he gets his own film, directed by Chris McKay. If the Lego aspect is rather sidelined here (not enough building sequences), the film goes to town with superhero references. Batman is the Dark Knight of Gotham, an isolated loner with just Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) for company. He refuses to even admit the Joker (Zack Galifianakis) is his greatest enemy, setting in motion a plot that sees the villain get himself sent to the Phantom Zone – that faraway netherworld where Superman banished General Zod. Little blocks, big screen: meet the makers of The Lego Movie (2014) What happens should be left to be discovered, but suffice to say, the Joker teams up with some seriously bad villains including some familiar “British robots”.
The plot in the final third does get in the way of the avalanche of jokes, but it’s not enough to derail this smartly scripted tale, which neatly pricks the pomposity of superhero films and Batman in particular. One brilliant montage illustrates each incarnation of Batman right back to the days of Adam West and there are appearances by Robin (Michael Cera) and Batgirl (Rosario Dawson), as Gotham’s finest finds that even he can’t work alone. With the theme of family beaming brighter than the bat signal, it’s the first film since Deadpool to put the fun back into crime-fighting. Why 2017 may be the year of ‘comic book nirvana’ for superhero movies Boasting more pop-culture references than plastic bricks – everything from The Matrix to King Kong gets a nod – the film isn’t above ripping on other previous superhero failures, with Suicide Squad coming in for a bashing. Indeed, with the upcoming Justice League film alluded to, you’re left wishing its director Zack Snyder was using Lego bricks and not humans.
The Lego Batman Movie opens on February 9 Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook The Lego Movie: Morgan Freeman On His Character The Lego Movie (Trailer 1) The Lego Movie: Lord Business The Lego Movie: Everything Is Awesome The Lego Movie: We Are Entering Your Mind The Lego Movie: I'm Batman The Lego Movie: Behind The Bricks (Featurette) The Lego Movie: Cloud Cuckoo Land The Lego Movie: Will Ferrell On His Character The Lego Movie: You're The One The Prophecy Spoke Of The Lego Movie: Liam Neeson On His Two Characters The Lego Movie: Where Can We Go Where We Can't Be Found? The Lego Movie: Phil Lord And Chris Miller On The Cast The Lego Movie: Good Morning The Lego Movie: Chris Pratt On His Character The Lego Movie: Alison Brie On Her Character The Lego Movie: Isn't There Supposed To Be A Good Cop? The Lego Movie: Will Arnett On the lego Batman The Lego Movie: Elizabeth Banks On The Story
The Lego Movie: Nick Offerman On His Character The Lego Movie (Trailer 2)HTML5-compatible browser is required to view this video The Lego Movie CLIP - Good Morning (2014) - Chris Pratt, Morgan Freeman Movie HDAlthough there were more than the usual number of snubs and surprises in this morning’s Oscar nominations, easily the most animated cries of shock came in, well, the Animated Feature category. If ever there was a sure thing going into today’s nominations, it was that Warner Bros’ blockbuster toon The Lego Movie not only would be nominated but was the presumed front -runner for the win. It’s a real shame for talented director-writers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, who also got screwed by the Academy animation voters when they were overlooked for 2009’s Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. But this snub was bigger, HUGE. This is not a tragedy. Congrats to incredible crew and cast of The Lego Movie, who made a classic. — philip lord (@philiplord) January 15, 2015
Shockwaves not only hit the room but among those working on rival films — the ones that did get nominated. A Disney source emailed me immediately, “WHAT? Big Hero 6 can win now!” A source connected with DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon 2 said virtually the same thing. With the 800-lb. Lego Movie out of the way, they expect to go for the win. No movie has been enjoying more of a roller-coaster awards ride than Dragon 2. Last week it was shut out of a BAFTA nomination, but then Sunday night it became the surprise winner of the Animated Feature Golden Globe, something DWA chief Jeffrey Katzenberg predicted to me he would probably lose since they had previously gone 0-for-10 with the HFPA. Not to be outdone, a campaign source with Focus Features’ and Laika’s The Boxtrolls also was busy with emails. “I am stunned I can’t even think straight. Totally new animation race now…we are in it to win it. So what caused this earthquake? Blame it on GKIDS, the little New York distributor of mostly foreign-based toons, which again played David to the studio’s Goliaths and was the only distributor to land two Animated Feature noms this year with the Japanese The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya and the Irish Song Of The Sea, both old-fashioned hand-drawn films that slayed the giant in the category.
A publicist representing GKIDS was practically giddy about the turn of events when I saw them this morning at the Academy. The GKIDS triumph falls right in line with the true independent spirit of these 2014 Oscar nominations. That indie vibe that dominates the Best Picture race clearly crept into this animated race as well. So what does it all mean? With cash-conscious indies dominating the big Picture races, the companies behind the higher-profile animation nominees — Disney, DWA and Universal’s Focus — have deep pockets and might be inclined to start an all-out ad war to try to position their film as the new front-runner. All of them are sensing a win, and that means a revved-up campaign to become king of the toons this year. Animated Feature might become one of the most interesting races to watch. Katzenberg’s DreamWorks Animation won the first-ever Animated Feature Oscar with Shrek in 2001, but other than distributing the 2005 winner Wallace & Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, DWA films consistently have been bridesmaids since, if in the race at all.
This is a chance for redemption. Focus, through its long-term relationship with Travis Knight’s Oregon-based Laika, now is 3-for-3, having scored previous nominations for the company’s Coraline and ParaNorman. You can bet they now are thinking third time’s the charm and will probably put up the dollars to get that point across for Boxtrolls. And then there is the true heavyweight in the category, Disney, which after a big win last year for Frozen, preceded by six wins and annual nominations for Pixar, will be out to prove that the homegrown, reignited Disney Animation label is definitely for real. A Big Hero 6 victory would do the trick. No film has taken this prize without at least a corresponding BAFTA nomination. Big Hero 6 has one. But Dragon 2 does not. Awards consultants will be looking for all sorts of signposts like this to take the measure of the race. And after causing such a fury with its two noms today, could GKIDS — which doesn’t have nearly the campaign budgets of its competitors — actually translate one of them into a win If it does, the most likely beneficiary might be The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya, which could be the last film from legendary director Isao Takahata and the penultimate movie from Japan’s revered Studio Ghibli.