Lego Batman 2 is no more, folks. In an interview with Collider, director Chris McKay – discussing his upcoming movie The Tomorrow War – revealed what went down. Alas, the rights to the franchise are the cause.
"Because Lego has left Warner Brothers and is now over at Universal, there probably won't be a Lego Batman sequel, unfortunately. I am so sorry to say that but I don't think they'll be making a Lego Batman 2," McKay reveals.
This is sad news, especially now we're hearing specifics on the shape of the proposed sequel. The writing team included Loki creator Michael Waldron and Rick and Morty's Dan Harmon. "Dan and Waldron had done a first draft of the script that was really great. It was truly epic... both from an action standpoint and from a story standpoint," McKay explains, further driving the knife into our deflated hearts.
He goes to reveal its structure was modeled after The Godfather Part 2 while the story revolved around Batman's connection to the Justice League, with his specific relationship to Superman taking focus.
He adds the movie was "Boogie Nights-esque" and "it was going to be really funny." Funny how? Well, McKay adds: "I would have quadrupled down on making it as much of a real Justice League movie with lots of jokes, cameos, intersecting storylines, references as humanly possible."
Where the first flick dealt with Batman, Robin, and ideas of found family, the follow-up planned to tackle friendship and change. "It was about how hard it is to change. To commit to change. To stay on the new road you’ve carved for yourself. Especially when maybe you weren’t such a good guy to your friends. Your old friends might not be able to see the new you. They might still live in the past. But as the movie (and Robin) finds out... the past might be more complicated than it seems."
This syncs with what we know of the Lego Batman character from the previous film. In that spin-off, we learn he sees himself as an outsider. It takes him a while to realize he's not alone, and he does belong. To see him struggle with that new path would have made for a likely quite unique Batman movie, much like the first Lego one. The Lego Batman Movie proved it's possible for Bruce Wayne to poke fun at himself whilst also treading new ground. New ground which may have included a roster of fresh villains including Lex Luthor! Gah.
If you're missing the gravelly-voiced hero and crave more spandex action, here's our complete guide to new superhero movies on the way, from The Suicide Squad, to The Batman, and more.
