After The LEGO Movie debuted to critical acclaim and dominated the box office for the entire month of February, it was no surprise when Warner Bros. started zeroing in on sequels and spin-offs, turning the film into a fully-formed franchised. Release dates have already been set for a follow-up to the original film, but also a Batman spin-off, a Ninjago standalone film, and fourth untitled LEGO movie, all of which will be released annually beginning in 2016. What can we expect from the sequel to highest-grossing animated film of 2014? Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller say more female characters for one thing.
“It’s important to us that the movie plays broadly and that we inspire young women as much as we inspire young men,” Lord told the BBC.
“I don’t want to give spoilers,” Miller teased. “But there will be more female characters and more female stuff… There’s been a real shortage of [female protagonists] in recent years and I think that the near future will be very different.”
The LEGO Movie, despite featuring countless identifiable characters on screen, only featured three major female roles including Elizabeth Banks as Wyldstyle, Allison Brie as Unikitty, and Cobie Smulders as Wonder Woman. It’s unclear who will be in the sequel though, as Lord and Miller reveal, they’ve only scratched the surface on the script.
“You would think there would be be more pieces in place but all we’ve written is ‘Fade in..,'” said Lord.
Lord and Miller also recounted another interesting new detail on their film over at Yahoo! where they revealed that “Star Wars” star R2-D2 was almost a major player in the first film.
“He was a Batman-level character,” Miller said, who if you recall has his own theme music as he was so integral to the movie.
“We figured we could get R2-D2 because his voice wasn’t a human being,” Lord added.
“Star Wars” characters did appear in the animated film for a brief moment though R2-D2 was not among them. R2-D2 is set to appear in next year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and with at least two more “Star Wars” movies to be released between then and The LEGO Movie sequel, there’s always the chance he could appear in the follow-up.
