As reported a few months ago, Universal Pictures is the new home for big screen LEGO® adventures after the studio entered into a five year deal with the LEGO Group. Future LEGO movies will be released by Universal Pictures, who have previously partnered with LEGO for various animated series based on the Jurassic World franchise as well as licensed LEGO sets such as Trolls: World Tour, Back to the Future, Minions and Fast & Furious to name a few. Much of the team behind the Warner Bros. era films will continue to work on future Univeral Picture releases, although it’s unclear if past LEGO Movie characters will continue in future movies, I would doubt it, mainly because many of the characters were co-created by Warner. Check out the press release below.
UNIVERSAL CITY, CA—April 23, 2020— Universal Pictures today announced that the studio has entered into a five-year exclusive agreement with the LEGO Group to develop, produce and distribute theatrical releases based on its intellectual property and original ideas. The announcement was made by Donna Langley, Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, and Jill Wilfert, Head of Entertainment, the LEGO Group.
Capitalizing on its timeless brand, the LEGO Group’s expansion into content creation with titles including The LEGO Movie, The LEGO Batman Movie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, has grossed nearly $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office. Universal and LEGO have previously collaborated on the television special, Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit and the 13-episode mini-series LEGO Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar.
“The LEGO System in Play gives people the ability to build worlds and create stories that they carry throughout every phase of their lives,” said Langley. “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.”
“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,” said Wilfert. “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.”
Wilfert will serve as producer on all LEGO projects developed and released by Universal. Rideback’s Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich will produce alongside Wilfert on the next LEGO-inspired feature. Lin produced all previous LEGO features.
The LEGO Group was represented in the deal by Ken Kleinberg and Jill Smith from Kleinberg, Lange, Cuddy and Carlo.
