The Lego Movie is shaping up to be one of the biggest movie surprises of the year, and is currently the top grossing film of 2014 domestically. Of course there’s going to be a sequel. For the follow up though, the directors of the first film, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, are stepping aside and handing the reins over to the film’s animation co-director, Chris McKay, according to Deadline.
McKay’s name isn’t one most people will recognize, but after working as The Lego Movie’s animation co-director and animation supervisor, it’s safe to say that the sequel is in good hands. Lord and Miller aren’t going to stray too far either, and both will remain on board as producers. McKay’s directorial credits are all on the TV side, and include the shows Moral Orel and Titan Maximum, but the bulk of his work has been as director of the stop motion Adult Swim series, Robot Chicken. In many ways that makes him uniquely qualified to take over this type of animated film. The Lego Movie was mostly CGI, but there were a few elements of stop motion and many of the backgrounds were created with real lego bricks. In fact, using that blend of animation and physical sets is what earned McKay the job in the first place.
The Lego Movie debuted on February 7, 2014, and is still doing relatively well at the box office. Since it’s opening, the film has gone on to earn over $227 million, making it the top grossing film of the year in the U.S. by a wide margin; the comedy Ride Along is in a distant second with $130 million. Worldwide, The Lego Movie has earned a combined $362 million and counting.
The sequel will pick up where the first film left off, but beyond that there are no details yet to offer. Warner Animation Group, the studio behind the film, is also considering a spin-off based on the Ninjago toy line, but that would be a separate project from the sequel.
The second Lego Movie is currently scheduled for release on May 26, 2017.
