'The Lego Movie' Sequel Already in the Works

After years of successful Lego movies for the home market, the toy company took the plunge with Warner Bros. on a star-studded big screen effort with The Lego Movie. Combining many of their most popular franchises (Superman, Batman, Lord of the Rings) with a celebrity voice cast and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the film is looking like a sure-fire hit this week with early praise shooting through the roof. And rather than waiting to see how it does at the box office first, Warner Bros. has already begun putting the pieces together for a sequel.

The studio has hired Jared Stern (The Internship) and Michelle Morgan (Girl Most Likely) to begin drafting a script for a sequel, and obviously details are scarce at the moment. For instance, it's unclear whether Lord and Miller will return to direct, or if they'll slip into producer roles as they did for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.

Warner Bros. is making good on their promise of developing one "high-end" animated film per year, dreamed up by a brain trust of filmmakers that includes Stern, Lord and Miller, Nicholas Stoller, John Requa, and Glen Ficarra. The Lego Movie is expected to open huge with analysts projecting a $40M debut. [TheWrap]