Pitch Perfect 2 Will Shoot Next Year, Says Elizabeth Banks

If 2015 wasn’t already a crowded enough year for sequels, with Star Wars: Episode VII, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Jurassic World, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, Batman/Superman, Terminator and Ted 2 all lobbying for your hard-earned cash, Universal has set a 2015 release date for Pitch Perfect 2, the sequel to last year’s surprise box-office smash.

The original Pitch Perfect was a stunning success, grossing $113 million worldwide against a budget of $17 million, so the studio’s eagerness to fast-track a sequel is certainly understandable. When you factor in the generally positive reception that the first entry received (our own Jonathan Lack gave the film three and a half stars), it’s not hard to see why Universal is currently trying so hard to turn the acapella comedy into a full-blown franchise.

Speaking with /Film’s Germain Lussier, Pitch Perfect co-star/producer Elizabeth Banks shed a little light on the current state of the sequel:

“We’re working very hard on the script but I don’t anticipate we’ll shoot it until maybe first or second quarter of next year.”

When pressed for story details, Banks simply said:

“I have no hints on the story other than to say I’m guaranteeing a lot of laughs.”

That much should be a given. Considerable praise was heaped upon the original Pitch Perfect‘s bizarre blend of biting social commentary, shameless characters and occasional gross-out humor, and with writer Kay Cannon returning to pen the sequel, fans are likely in for more of the same.

Banks was even more tight-lipped when Lussier asked her about the possibility of her character, nutty acapella commentator Gail Abernathy-McKadden, reappearing alongside her misogynistic coworker (John Michael Higgins):

“Hopefully,” she said.

More story details and casting scoops will surely be coming out of Banks’ camp as Pitch Perfect 2 moves towards filming in mid-2014. Recent rumors floating around the web concern a possible role for former Disney starlet Demi Lovato and a storyline that would take the Barden Bellas and Treblemakers abroad for their next adventure, but nothing will likely be made official for some time. Only Rebel Wilson is currently confirmed to return, but cast members including Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Brittany Snow and Anna Camp have all expressed interest in reprising their roles for Pitch Perfect 2.

Are you excited to see the further adventures of the Barden Bellas and the Treblemakers, or should Universal have left Pitch Perfect as a one-hit wonder? Sound off in the comments section.