The Lego Movie is an American media franchise and shared universe based on Lego construction toys. It began with the 2014 film The Lego Movie, which was directed and written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The success of the film led to the release of two licensed video games, a 4D film theme park attraction, two spin-off films titled The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie, which were released in 2017, Unikitty! an animated television series that also came out in the same year, and the sequel to the original film titled The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part released in 2019. All these films were produced by Warner Bros. Development would end in 2020, with Warner Bros. letting the rights lapse back to The Lego Group after The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part underperformed at the box office and the studio failed to materialize any new projects.
The franchise has received a generally positive critical reception, with the exception of The Lego Ninjago Movie which received mixed reviews, and has grossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
While Warner Bros. still owns the rights to the projects in their franchise, including the Unikitty! animated television series, Universal Pictures bought the rights to make separate films in a 5-year deal. The first separate Lego film under Universal's run of the film rights, Piece by Piece, was released on 11 October 2024, while five new Lego films under the new deal are in development.
Films All four films in the franchise were produced as a collaboration between Warner Animation Group, Lego System A/S, Rideback (formerly Lin Pictures), Lord Miller Productions, Vertigo Entertainment, and Animal Logic, who also provided the animation. All four films were distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriters Story by Producers Main series The Lego Movie Phil Lord & Christopher Miller Phil Lord, Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman & Christopher Miller Dan Lin & Roy Lee The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part Mike Mitchell Phil Lord & Christopher Miller Phil Lord, Matthew Fogel & Christopher Miller Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord, Jinko Gotoh & Christopher Miller Spin-offs The Lego Batman Movie Chris McKay Jared Stern, Erik Sommers, Chris McKenna, John Whittington & Seth Grahame-Smith Seth Grahame-Smith Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller The Lego Ninjago Movie Bob Logan, Paul Fisher & Charlie Bean Bob Logan, Tom Wheeler, Paul Fisher, Jared Stern, William Wheeler & John Whittington Bob Logan, Dan Hageman, Tom Wheeler, Paul Fisher, Kevin Hageman, Hillary Winston & William Wheeler Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord, Chris McKay, Maryann Garger & Christopher Miller
Of note, RatPac-Dune Entertainment (currently Access Industries) only had involvement with the first three films; Village Roadshow Pictures only had involvement financing the first movie; and only two movies were released in IMAX, The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. The Lego Ninjago Movie was originally planned for an IMAX release, but these showings were cancelled.
Main series The Lego Movie (2014)
The film was released theatrically on 7 February 2014, through Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures to near-unanimous acclaim; critics praised its visual style, humor, voice cast and heartwarming message. It earned more than $257 million in the U.S. and Canada and $210 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of over $469 million. The film won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature, and the Saturn Award for Best Animated Film. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. The film also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for "Everything Is Awesome".
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)
Before the critical acclaim and blockbuster success of The Lego Movie, talks for a sequel were already in motion. On 3 February 2014, Jared Stern and Michelle Morgan were tasked to write a screenplay. On 21 February 2014, the studio scheduled the sequel for a 26 May 2017, release. On 12 March 2014, Deadline reported that the first film's animation co-director Chris McKay would direct the sequel with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as producers. Warner Bros. did not invite co-producer of the first film, Village Roadshow Pictures, to return as a participant in the sequel, due to Warner Bros. having now more confidence in the film and trying to keep as much profit as possible for itself. On 10 April 2014, McKay expressed that he would like to introduce more women in the sequel than men. On 28 July 2014, it was reported that on the internet, Chris Pratt expressed interest in reprising his role as Emmet for the sequel. It was also reported that Will Arnett might return as Batman, but had not decided yet.
In October 2014, Warner Bros. scheduled The Lego Batman Movie for 2017, and The Lego Movie 2 for 2018. By 25 October 2014, Lord and Miller had signed on to write The Lego Movie 2. The writers implied that the sequel would take place four years after the events of The Lego Movie. In February 2015, Warner Bros. announced that the title of the sequel had been changed to The Lego Movie Sequel, and that Rob Schrab, co-writer of Monster House replaced McKay as director since McKay went to direct The Lego Batman Movie. According to an interview at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the sequel would focus on Emmet and his sister, taking place in a "weird, dystopian version of Bricksburg." On 20 April 2015, Warner Bros. scheduled The Lego Movie Sequel for a 18 May 2018 release date. On 17 June 2016, the film's release was delayed until 8 February 2019. By July 2016, Raphael Bob-Waksberg had been hired to do rewrites of the script. By February 2017, Schrab had been replaced by Mike Mitchell, reportedly due to "creative differences". On 6 September 2017, it was announced that production of The Lego Movie Sequel would begin in Canada on 2 October 2017. It was also announced that Lord and Miller returned to re-rewrite the script to tackle gender issues on how a girl plays versus how a boy plays.
On 23 March 2018, it was confirmed that Tiffany Haddish was cast in the film as a new lead character while returning actors would be Pratt as Master Builder Emmet Brickowski, and addition to reprise the role of Emmet, Pratt would also voice the antagonist, Rex Dangervest. Elizabeth Banks reprises her role as Wyldstyle, and Arnett returns to reprise Batman, Channing Tatum as Superman & Jonah Hill as Green Lantern. On 21 May 2018, Warner Bros. officially renamed the film The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part along with releasing the first teaser poster.
Spin-off films The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
In October 2014, Warner Bros. scheduled the release of The Lego Batman Movie, a spin-off starring Batman, for 2017, moving the release date for The Lego Movie 2 (later titled as The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) to 2018. Will Arnett returned to voice Batman, with Chris McKay, who was earlier attached to the sequel, directing the film, the story written by Seth Grahame-Smith, and the film produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. On 20 April 2015, Warner Bros. scheduled The Lego Batman Movie for a 10 February 2017 release. In July 2015, Arnett's Arrested Development co-star Michael Cera was cast to voice Robin. In August 2015, Zach Galifianakis entered final negotiations to voice the Joker. In October 2015, Rosario Dawson was cast to voice Barbara Gordon, the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon who later becomes the crime-fighting heroine Batgirl. The following month, Ralph Fiennes was cast as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler. Mariah Carey, although initial reports indicated she was playing Commissioner Gordon, was actually cast as Mayor McCaskill. The score was composed by Lorne Balfe. The first trailer for the film was released on 24 March 2016, followed by a second on 28 March the same year. The film was released in the United States on 10 February 2017.
The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)
Brothers Dan and Kevin Hageman, who wrote Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu and co-wrote the story of The Lego Movie, co-wrote the film adaptation of Lego Ninjago, which features a new take that diverges from the TV series. Charlie Bean, who produced Disney's Tron: Uprising, directed the film, produced by The Lego Movie team of Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The spin-off movie was scheduled to be released on 23 September 2016. On 20 April 2015, the film was delayed until 22 September 2017, as Storks took over the original release date of the movie. In June 2016, the cast was announced to include Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, Michael Peña, Abbi Jacobson, Kumail Nanjiani, Zach Woods and Fred Armisen respectively.
Cancelled films The Billion Brick Race In March 2015, Warner Bros. announced that a third Lego Movie spin-off, titled The Billion Brick Race, was in development. By July 2016, Jason Segel and Drew Pearce signed onto the project as co-directors and co-writers. In August 2017, it was announced that Jorge R. Gutierrez was hired to replace them as its sole writer and director. At that time, the film was scheduled to be released on 24 May 2019.
By February 2018, Gutierrez had left the project declaring it a failure. In July 2018, the film's plot was announced by Pearce to be a Lego racing film, inspired by pre-existing racing films, including The Cannonball Run.
In December 2019, concept art of the film's main characters was revealed by the film's initial director Jorge R. Gutierrez, along with the confirmation that he had cancelled the project. The poor box office results of The Lego Ninjago Movie and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, along with the film's lengthy conceptual phase, were given as the primary reasons.
In July 2022, Gutierrez stated on Twitter that he intended for the film's two leads to be voiced by Diego Luna and Emma Stone. The film was also going to include elements of time travel as well as an appearance by the creator of Lego, Ole Kirk Kristiansen.
Lego Superfriends In December 2018, Chris McKay confirmed that a sequel to The Lego Batman Movie was in development, with him returning to direct. The film was set for a release in 2022. However, while the rights of DC Comics are owned by Warner Bros., the sequel was cancelled due to Warner Bros. losing the Lego film rights after The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part underperformed at the box office, with Universal signing a deal as the distributor for future Lego films.
In June 2021, McKay revealed that the script was being written by Michael Waldron and Dan Harmon, and was stated to have taken notes from The Godfather Part II as well as Boogie Nights. The film would have focused on Batman's relationship with the Justice League, particularly Superman, and the main antagonists would have been Lex Luthor and OMAC. The film was tentatively titled Lego Superfriends.
Future Universal Pictures deal After any of the LEGO films that Warner had planned failed to enter development, along with the box office underperformance of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Universal Pictures entered early negotiations in December 2019 to distribute upcoming feature film properties based on the Lego toys. Although Universal would develop and distribute future Lego films, the original The Lego Movie characters (Emmet, Wyldstyle, Unikitty, Benny, MetalBeard, etc.) and projects (The Lego Movie, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, The Lego Batman Movie, The Lego Ninjago Movie, and Unikitty!) are still owned by Warner Bros. In April 2020, the deal with Universal was set for a limited 5-year film deal. The company planned to include its own franchises and characters in its run of Lego films.
Untitled live-action/animated Lego film