What’s next forLEGO Emmett?LEGOis in talks to move their big screen operation over to Universal Pictures. The popular franchise is looking to rebuild after its contract with Warner Bros. expired earlier this year. For now, Universal is the frontrunner, which makes sense since the studio is light on name-brand franchises. However, that could spell disaster when looking to expand on the big screen. Warner Bros. has a huge amount of name-brand franchises, which allowedLEGOto dip into popular culture like never before. Regardless, it’s time for some reconstruction.
Not many saw theLEGOfranchise flourishing on the big screen when it started.The LEGO Moviewas a box office smash in 2014 and so was theBatmanspin-off later on in 2017. For a while, it looked like LEGO could do no wrong. But that was about to change with the release ofThe LEGO Ninjago Moviein late 2017, which was not the hit that people were expecting. The same can be said for this year’sLEGO Movie: The Second Part, which is when the toy company started thinking about a fresh start with a new studio.
Even with the last few LEGO projects not meeting box office expectations, sources say that there have been many offers thrown at the toy company to expand their horizons. Universal could very well end up winning the big deal, as of this writing. Before the Warner Bros. deal expired, the studio was in developing two additional LEGO projects, includingThe Billion Brick Racewith Jason Segel providing the script and possibly directing, and a sequel toThe LEGO Batman Moviewith Chris McKay attached to return as director. There is even a 2022 release set for the latter project. However, it remains unclear if these projects will see the light of day now that Universal is in the picture.
It seems unlikely that Warner Bros. wouldlicense out the Batman character to LEGOif they end up heading over to Universal, though stranger things have happened. LEGO is one of the biggest toy franchises in the world and it has only gotten bigger since it started making sets based on TV and Movies. Even a small box office success is still a lot bigger than other franchises can muster, which is why there’s so many studios trying to work with them.
For now, the LEGO franchise on the big screen is up in the air. But, sources say that they are close to inking a deal with Universal, which will give them a fresh start. Producer Dan Lin and his Rideback production company, which made the previous LEGO movies, remains attached under the Universal umbrella. Other than that, we’ll just have to wait until we are able to get some more information about the future of the famous franchise on the big screen.The Hollywood Reporterwas the first to announce the LEGO and Universal news.
