The LEGO Movie, a co-production between the Warner Bros. Animation Group and LEGO, was one of biggest animated film franchises to start up in this decade. After all, from its success, we owe other titles such as most recent The LEGO Ninjago Movie and the stupendously popular LEGO Batman Movie with both films launched in 2017.
It has also been announced that WAG and the LEGO Group have set its sights on offering another brick-built film slated for release in 2019. The Billion Brick Race is a sequel to 2014’s LEGO Movie and another spinoff in the vein of Batman and Ninjago, tentatively set for a May 24, 2019 debut. However, the ambitious sequel seems to be going through rough waters as problems akin to Lucasfilm’s Solo, has been plaguing it recently particularly with two directorial changes.
Jason Segel and Drew Pearce were originally named back in 2015 to be co-directors of The Billion Brick Race. In 2017 however, they were replaced by Jorge R. Gutierrez, who was at the helm for Fox Animation’s The Book of Life. Earlier this month, unfortunately, Gutierrez announced his departure from the project as well. Here’s his parting words as expressed in his Twitter account:
“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!!!’”
Well, that’s quite a bummer. Now that The Billion Brick Race has lost a director for the second time, doubts have clouded the film’s otherwise bright future. With just more than a year to bring things in order, we really don’t have the faintest idea how Warner Bros. Animation will turn things around specially that the film giant hasn’t yet named a successor to Gutierrez. We can only hope for the best at this point.
Thanks to the Flickering Myth for the heads up.