The LEGO Movie Franchise is Moving From Warner Bros. to Universal Pictures
Warner Bros. has enjoyed having the LEGO franchise in their house for years. They’ve seen a lot of success from the LEGO films that they’ve made. Well, LEGO is leaving WB for Universal Pictures.
Universal has just closed a five-year exclusive deal with the LEGO Group that will lead to “the development, production and theatrical distribution of films constructed from the fusion of original ideas to the colorful building blocks.”
This is a huge move for LEGO, but I guess that they were ready to take their brand in a different direction. According to Deadline:
Universal is betting that an injection of new imagination and a cross pollination with its own venerable titles will be the building blocks to a resurgence. From Jurassic Park to its classic monsters, there is a lot of room to roam to launch new franchises. There has already been a Lego treatment given Uni’s dinosaur franchise for TV, with Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit and the 13-ep miniseries LEGO Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar.
This means we can kiss all of those DC and Warner Bros. properties that have been mixed with LEGO good-bye. Warner Bros. along with Phil Lord and Chris Miller built the LEGO movie brand with films such as The LEGO Movie, The Lego Batman Movie directed by Chris McKay, LEGO Ninjago Movie, and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. All those films will remain in the WB library.
The LEGO Movie 2 didn’t really do as well as WB hoped, so maybe the studio wasn’t interested in playing with LEGO anymore. But they had a good run pulling in over $1.1 billion on the films they did make.
LEGO Group’s Jill Wilfert will serve as producer on all LEGO projects developed and released by Universal. Rideback’s Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich will produce as well. Lin produced all of the previous LEGO features.
Universal’s Donna Langley said in a statement:
“The LEGO System in Play gives people the ability to build worlds and create stories that they carry throughout every phase of their lives. To partner with such an iconic brand that remains relevant and is constantly evolving allows for creativity in storytelling. We’re thrilled to start building out the next chapter of LEGO movies together with Jill and the LEGO team as they continue to inspire curiosity and innovation.”
Wilfert added:
“Universal’s commitment to unique storytelling from diverse voices makes the Studio the perfect partner as the LEGO Group enters this new phase of filmmaking. Donna and the entire Universal team bring a sense of wonder and imagination we share, and we can’t wait to execute on our shared vision.”
What are your thoughts on LEGO moving from Warner Bros. to Universal? It’ll be interesting to see what comes of it and how these future films will be different from the ones created at WB.
