In news that fans of the 2012 musical comedy Pitch Perfect can only describe as aca-awesome, we recently got scoop on the upcoming sequel about both a major cast member who is now confirmed to return and an intriguing plot detail that will definitely shake things up for the Barden Bellas in the second film.
Though we’ll have to wait until May of next year to see Pitch Perfect 2, we now know (thanks to Deadline) that Brittany Snow, who played vivacious redhead Chloe Beale, has signed on to reprise her role. In the first film, Snow’s character was a senior leader of the college a capella group before being sidelined by vocal nodes (which granted her the odd ability to hit bass notes). How exactly screenwriter Kay Cannon is planning to bring her back into the fold now that she’s graduated Barden University is anyone’s guess, but recent comments by director/producer/co-star Elizabeth Banks give us some idea of what the sequel will look like.
When asked about the prospect of working with previously-confirmed returning cast members Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, Banks said:
I’m really excited to direct the girls. The whole project speaks so much to me and to women and to making women funny in really fun and interesting ways and that’s what I’m most looking forward to. I’m looking forward to letting the girls let loose. All I can say right now is that they will be graduating seniors this time around, rather than incoming freshmen.
That pretty significant time-jump likely means that Banks and Cannon will be bringing a slew of fresh faces to the Pitch Perfect franchise in addition to bringing back old favorites. Though no other cast members have been announced, there’s still plenty of time until the film’s May 2015 release date, and the sequel hasn’t even started shooting yet. However, we’ll likely hear more soon, as Banks is aiming to film Pitch Perfect 2 in the first half of 2014.
What do you think the story of Pitch Perfect 2 will be? And which returning stars or fresh faces to the franchise are you hoping to see? Personally, though I have my problems with Glee, I wouldn’t mind seeing that show’s Melissa Benoist, Darren Criss or Naya Rivera make the jump over to the Pitch Perfect series.
Pitch Perfect 2 opens May 15, 2015.