2014 proved to be quite the year for Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Not only did the pair concoct a sequel that was as aware of its own existence as it was successful in 22 Jump Street, but the writing duo directed The LEGO Movie to rave reviews (pulling in close to $500 million in the process). Now that Warner Bros. is planning a direct sequel, Lord and Miller have stepped down as directors of the film, but that doesn’t mean the two won’t still be involved in the creative process, as it’s understood they will return to script The LEGO Movie 2.
Speaking to the BBC, the pair also shared some early details on the development of the sequel, and revealed that The LEGO Movie 2 will have much more of a female focus than its predecessor, with Lord stating that Hollywood still has work to do when it comes to representing women on film.
“It’s important to us that the movie plays broadly and that we inspire young women as much as we inspire young men. I don’t want to give spoilers but there will be more female characters and more female stuff. There’s been a real shortage of [female protagonists] in recent years and I think that the near future will be very different.”
While The LEGO Movie featured a handful of memorable female characters, including freedom fighter Wyldestyle, it’s refreshing to hear that Lord and Miller will build the script around female personas from the get-go.
Much like its approach to the superhero slate, Warner Bros. has big plans for the franchise, with two sequels currently planned along with a Batman and ninja-themed Ninjago spin-off scheduled. In fact, both of these films will arrive before the next numerical entry in the series.
The LEGO Movie 2 will drop at some point in 2018. Until then, tell us, are you excited to see the sequel shift focus to more female characters?
