The Lego Movie 3

The Lego Movie 3 is a 2024 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the sequel to The Lego Movie 2 (2017) and the 7th film in the LEGO Extended Universe. The film is directed and written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who co-wrote the script alongisde John August, and stars Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Stephanie Beatriz, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman and Charley Day reprising their roles from the previous films. In the film, Emmet Brickowski (Pratt), Wyldstyle (Banks) and their friends team up to save the world from the catastrophic threat of an alien army.

Lord and Miller had discussed plans for a sequel by August 2017. The film was announced in July 2018, with Pratt and Banks in early negotiations to return. Lord and Miller wanted to differentiate the film from their previous installments, seeking to make a film inspired by the typical science fiction of the 1980s. They adapted elements of the filmography of Steven Spielberg and Star Wars. August came on board to contribute to the script in February 2020, with the casting revealed later that year. Production began in early 2021 in Vancouver, Canada, delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and wrapped through 2023.

The Lego Movie 3 premiered in Los Angeles on February 27, 2024, and was released theatrically in the United States on February 2 in Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, IMAX and IMAX 3D. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its animation, humor, retro tone, and voice acting. The film earned $165.7 million in its opening weekend and grossed over $875 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2024 and was the 15th-highest-grossing animated film of all time during its theatrical run. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards.

Cast

 * Chris Pratt as Emmet Brickowsky
 * Elizabeth Banks as Lucy / Wyldstyle
 * Will Arnett as Batman
 * Alison Brie as Unikitty
 * Charlie Day as Benny
 * Stephanie Beatriz
 * Tiffany Haddish

Development
Following the release of The Lego Movie 2, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller expressed interest in returning to direct and write a third film. By then they had discussed what they would want in a possible third film. For 2018, both prepared treatments, however, they decided to change the narrative to be a science fiction adventure that they began to develop in the following months and July 12, the film was officially announced. At that time the production was slow, due to the tight schedule of the directors. They cited a lack of time to direct and write as a reason the film's development was convoluted in the early stages.

On January 14, 2020, Warner Bros. Pictures officially a release date of February 2, 2024. Dan Lin and Roy Lee were announced as producers a month later, with Lord and Miller serving as executive producers and John August contacted to work on the story with them. By the end of June, Lord and Miller had finished a first "volume" of the script they had been working on since 2018, when they got into an argument with August about its plot, who found it interesting and striking. Later that month it was confirmed that Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks would be returning, reprising their lead roles from the previous films. As of July 28, Will Arnett was in final talks to play his Batman character. Over the next several weeks, Nick Offerman and Charlie Day confirmed her return and Alison Brie confirmed that she would play Unikitty in a minor role. In June 2021, it was announced that Tiffany Haddish and Stephanie Beatriz had joined the cast as two undisclosed characters, who later revealed themselves to be two girls specializing in astronomy and supernatural things.

Australian animation studio Animal Logic, which contributed to the previous films, announced their cooperation on the film as part of an earlier deal. In August 2021, Lord and Miller said that they would be "bringing some eye-catching elements to the table to make the film a completely different experience from its predecessors" and described themselves as "raptured" by the film's concept. In September, Phil expanded by saying that the film would connect with Lego Dimensions (2022) but it would have a story on a much smaller scale, being able to make the characters, the story and the tone, open interpretations of the production team.

Writing
The initial idea for The Lego Movie 3 came about when Lord and Miller saw the original 1977 Star Wars and felt they could take on the typical sci-fi concept that was prevalent during the '70s and '80s. They began actively working on the script in April 2020, while August spent a year revising the script and providing plot input before leaving the project in early 2021; additional narrative material was credited to him. It was during the early stages of the script that they began to play with the idea of ​​a monster that could endanger the characters and initially the film's premise would have centered around a zombie apocalypse, before changing it to an alien invasion, a classic plot device in sci-fi films like Alien or Independence Day.

Lord and Miller, and by early July the draft script had been completed. At the end of that same month, they announced that they had been writing the script on and off for over three years up to that point and that final work would begin that week. They said that it was very explosive and explained that they saw the film as something retro with a classic neon aesthetic, which saw its popular use in the United States in the 1950s. In December, it was reported that Lord and Miller had completed a script for the film, however they denied this a month later.

Animation and desing
In February 2021, production was scheduled to begin that same year at the Animal Logic studio in Vancouver, Canada and by May it entered the process after various screenings and suggestions, and a three-month evaluation.

Marketing
The first pictures from the film was shown on the official Lego website in April 2023. Lord and Miller and the cast promoted the film at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con along with the debut of the teaser trailer which received 162 million views in its first 24 hours of release, the largest for a franchise film and the second-largest ever for an animated film.

Release
The Lego Movie 3 is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 2, 2024.