Following the massive success ofThe LEGO Movie, Warner Bros. looked like they were going to go all in onLEGOmovies. But after a 2017 that saw disappointing returns fromThe LEGO Batman MovieandThe LEGO Ninjago Movie, it looks like the studio could be rethinking their saturation strategy.
Warner Bros. was working onThe Billion Brick RacewithJason Segel(The Muppets) andDrew Pearce(Iron Man 3)teaming upto write and co-direct the spinoff, although there were no details on the project. However, a couple years later, and Warner Bros.handed control over toThe Book of LifedirectorJorge R. Gutierrez. NowFlickering Mythhas discovered a Facebook post from Guiterrez where he says he’s off the project:
“I would like to publicly and from the bottom of my heart thank everyone I worked with at Briksburg, LEGO and WAG. These last 9 months were a rollercoaster of thrills to say the least. I met so many amazing new people and learned a ton from all these incredible artists, directors, writers, editors, producers and execs. I leave a better filmmaker and it’s because of you all. May our paths cross again. Gracias mis amigos. And as I toasted on my first day there, ‘May we slip n slide on the blood of our enemies!!!’”
But Warner Bros. hasn’t handed off the project to anyone else, which gives the impression that they’re cooling their heels onLEGOmovies for the time begin. AlthoughThe LEGO Movie 2is still set for next year, it’s probably a wise decision on WB’s part to ease up a bit onLEGOmovies. Personally, I think they should have heldNinjagofor 2018 rather than releasing it seven months afterBatman, andNinjago’s meager $123 million worldwide box office bears that out. There’s certainly an audience still out there forLEGOmovies, but Warners would be wise to avoid saturating the market.
