'Lego Batman' Movie in the Works, 'Lego Movie' Sequel Pushed Back
Lego Batman is getting a lot more than a new videogame: he's getting his own movie!
Warner Bros. is apparently moving forward with a Lego Movie spinoff centering on Batman, the gravelly-voiced superhero played by Will Arnett in the animated blockbuster that made a downright absurd amount of money back in February. The movie will be written by author/screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith, and directed by Chris McKay, the animation supervisor on The Lego Movie.
McKay had originally been set to direct The Lego Movie 2, but that sequel is now being pushed back to accommodate Lego Batman, which is being given priority at Warner Bros. Of course, one could probably argue the wisdom of this decision, given how massively popular The Lego Movie was. But the inclusion of Batman, who's been a pretty big draw on the big screen in recent years, should be enough to off-set whatever potential loss there is in not having a direct Lego Movie sequel out sooner. (I suppose you could argue that Batman himself wasn't the draw in the Dark Knight Trilogy so much as Christopher Nolan's take on the character was the draw, but I think the point still stands, for the most part. Batman is an icon that still carries a lot of weight in pop culture. But I digress...)
Will Arnett will reportedly return as the Dark Knight, while Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller will return to produce the spinoff.
Although no concrete release date has been announced, it's expected that Lego Batman will hit theaters in 2017, taking the planned release date of The Lego Movie sequel. This now means The Lego Movie 2 will follow at some undetermined point after 2017. But Warner Bros. will look to satisfy Lego fans with its next Lego-based film, Ninjago, which is due for release on September 23, 2016.
What do you think of these plans? Is Warner Bros. making the right call to push back The Lego Movie 2 in order to give Lego Batman priority? Or could it potentially be a huge mistake on the part of the studio? Sound off in the comments!
Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures