When “The Lego Movie” was first announced way back when, we all laughed: the audience, the pundits, the analysts, anyone who covers movies for a living. But grossing some $500 million worldwide, turning into a huge hit, and actually turning out to be rather terrific, Warner Bros. and “The Lego Movie” creators had the last laugh. It’s the chief reason why if there’s an Emojis, or Pez movie announced its shortsighted to scoff or mock the idea with derision. “The Lego Movie” proved that an imaginative take on existing brand that seemingly has no narrative is all that matters. More importantly the film’s success launched an incredibly lucrative franchise that currently looks more hopeful than WB’s DCU plan. And you can thank Phil Lord and Chris Miller for that, as they really dialed into the fundamental themes of Legos and crafted a wonderful story from it.
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Up next in the ‘Lego’ series is “The Lego Batman Movie,” a similarly fun and irreverent Lego-take on the Batman universe. One of the unquestioned highlights of 2014’s hit "The Lego Movie" was the pompous Batman, voiced by Will Arnett. He parodied Christian Bale‘s gravelly Batman voice to perfection and was so popular, WB gave that rendition of the character his own movie. But he’s not alone. This version of Batman will come with Robin (Michael Cera), Batgirl (Rosario Dawson), The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and more.
And refreshingly, just because they’re doing a Batman story, doesn’t mean they’re going to lose the hilarious tone of Batman as a self-serious blowhard. “I can tell you that Lego Batman’s inner life as a frustrated artist will be fully explored,” Arnett wrote in a Reddit Q&A last year.
Directed by Chris McKay and written by Seth Grahame-Smith, “The Lego Batman Movie” also stars Ralph Fiennes doing the voice of Alfred Pennyworth, Mariah Carey as the Mayor and that’s all that’s known for now. “The Lego Batman Movie” is due in theaters on February 10, 2017, essentially the same weekend the “Lego Movie” became a huge surprise hit in 2014. Watch the first trailer below.