Most franchises overstay their welcome these days. The Lord of the Rings, Quick & Livid, and Transformers have continued to push ahead, even when high quality dipped. John Wick, Mission: Inconceivable, Predator, Alien, and others have stored curiosity excessive by delivering new installments that audiences adore.
Because of this, it is uncommon for studios to name it quits on a franchise too early. Hollywood would usually relatively strive yet another entry to maintain the IP alive or make up for previous errors, like with Jurassic World and Indiana Jones. However, there’s one franchise from the 2010s that had 4 motion pictures and made $1.1 billion that ought to have lasted quite a bit longer as an alternative of ending too quickly.
The LEGO Film Franchise Ended 7 Years In the past Right this moment
That is what occurred with Warner Bros.’s The LEGO Film franchise, which ran from 2014 to 2019, with The LEGO Film 2: The Second Half marking the sudden ultimate chapter. That entry hit theaters seven years in the past immediately, on February 8, 2019. And regardless of a heat response to it, this proved to be the final time Warner Bros. Animation would enterprise into the animated world revolving across the toy constructing blocks.
Even in spite of everything this time, it is unhappy to me that the collection did not proceed after The LEGO Film 2. WB struck gold with the unique 2014 film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. It acquired rave opinions (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and did gangbusters on the field workplace (incomes $468 million worldwide). The one logical response was extra LEGO motion pictures.
WB did simply that, firing up a Batman spinoff for Will Arnett, one other spinoff primarily based on the Ninjago collection of the bricks, and the 2019 direct sequel. And there have been plans for extra. A racing-based film, The Billion Brick Race, and a sequel to The LEGO Batman Film, tentatively titled LEGO Superfriends, that will’ve leaned extra into Batman’s adventures with the Justice League have been each in growth however ultimately canceled.
Why The LEGO Film Franchise Ended After 4 Motion pictures
So why did not we see extra LEGO motion pictures from Warner Bros.? There are two main causes. The primary is that the studio started to query the true urge for food for this collection after The LEGO Film 2 got here out. Whereas the sequel acquired favorable opinions (84% on RT), it failed to come back near the unique’s field workplace, making solely $199 million worldwide.
After the primary film made almost half a billion, The LEGO Batman Film earned $312 million, a robust, respectable consequence for the DC spinoff. However issues took a flip in 2018 when The LEGO Ninjago Film acquired blended opinions and solely managed to make $123 million. That put extra strain on The LEGO Film 2 to pop and provides WB monetary confidence in extending the collection.
That did not occur, with the studio electing to not renew its rights to LEGO’s large display screen presence. This led to Common swooping in to snag a five-year deal in 2020 to provide new LEGO motion pictures primarily based on the IP, which has to this point solely resulted in Pharrell Williams’ LEGO biopic Piece by Piece in 2024.
However due to the rights switching studios, there at present isn’t any pathway for the unique LEGO Film franchise to proceed, even when WB had a change of coronary heart.
The LEGO Film Franchise Was Nonetheless Nice When It Ended
The frustration with the franchise coming to a detailed seven years in the past is that it deserved to maintain going primarily based on the standard, even when the LEGO Film franchise’s field workplace was in decline.
The unique film is likely one of the higher animated motion pictures of the 2010s for my cash, with it actually capturing the imaginative feeling of constructing with these toy bricks. It is Chris Pratt’s finest animated film, and Will Ferrell as Lord Enterprise is hysterical. The last word emotional throughline revealed on the conclusion is basically nice, as are any of the constructing sequences.
The LEGO Batman Film confirmed how enjoyable the idea was when paired with an present IP that wasn’t afraid to make enjoyable of itself and its very critical main hero. And with it hilariously utilizing a few of WB’s greatest franchises within the third act, the chances of LEGO motion pictures for Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Beetlejuice virtually write themselves.
The LEGO Ninjago Film is the place the collection misplaced its means essentially the most, not placing the fitting stability of comedy and enjoyable characters that the opposite three movies maintain, nevertheless it’s nonetheless okay.
The LEGO Film 2 does not hit the highs of the primary movie, however its nonetheless very entertaining, humorous, and thematically sturdy. The truth that that is the place the story in the end ended for Emmet, Wyldstyle, and the remainder of the characters is an actual disgrace. The core idea nonetheless labored and positively had room to maintain going.
An argument could possibly be made that it is good that the franchise ended when it did, in the beginning grew to become too acquainted or stale. However I’d’ve cherished to see at the least yet another movie in the primary collection to finish that trilogy and/or one other LEGO Batman earlier than they wrapped it up.
If WB had been a bit extra affected person with the collection and let it develop a bit extra, I really feel like it could’ve regained its footing and turn out to be a cornerstone model partnership within the 2020s. As an alternative, The LEGO Film 2 ended the collection too quickly, and whereas it was nonetheless delivering sturdy outcomes.
- Launch Date
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February 7, 2019
- Runtime
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107 minutes
- Director
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Mike Mitchell
- Writers
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Phil Lord, Chris Miller
- Producers
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Phil Lord, Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jinko Gotoh, Jon Burton, Kristen Murtha, Sharon Taylor
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Emmet Brickowski / Rex Dangervest (voice)
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Elizabeth Banks
Wyldstyle / Lucy (voice)