Given the critical and commercial success of The Lego Movie, it's not surprising that Time Warner is looking to build on it with more films in the future. The company is taking that idea to the next level: Warner Bros. wants Lego to be a major film franchise alongside DC Comics and J.K. Rowling films.
Buisness Week reports that CEO Jeff Bewkes revealed this information in a first quarter finances conference call. The first Lego-based film was such a hit that the company wants to turn the property into a cornerstone of its film business with many future releases.
"Warner Bros.' performance at the box office in the first quarter was a result of its continued development of franchise films with global appeal, including The Lego Movie, which was the quarter's No. 1 release at the domestic box office," Bewkes said.
"Warner Bros. is already working on another Lego movie for release in 2017," he continued. "We think that Lego has the ability to be an evergreen franchise that, along with DC Comics and with J.K. Rowling's new series of films, will underpin the economics of our film business for many, many years."
Ever heard of too much of a good thing? They haven't, apparently. Having multiple films won't necessarily ruin the franchise, but part of the appeal of the first film was that it felt so fresh and unique--I'm not sure audiences won't tire of the franchise after years of entries.
The sequel has already been planned though, with Chris McKay (who served as co-animation director on the first Lego film) set as the director. Dan Lin, producer of The Lego Movie, stated in an interview with Business Week back in February that he envisions this franchise becoming a genre of its own.
"What I've told Warner Bros.," said Lin, "is that if this movie works, in the future you'll have live-action movies, you'll have animated movies, and you'll have Lego movies. It will be a new class of films that look photo real, that are very funny, and have a very specific tone. It's a look you've never seen before."
It may seem like he was getting ahead of himself several months ago, but if Warner Bros. follows through on its plans to make this into a giant franchise, Lin's suggestion will be getting pretty close to reality.
