Live-Action Lego Movies in the Works From Jake Kasdan, Patty Jenkins and Joe Cornish for Universal
The Lego Group has enlisted directors Jake Kasdan (the “Jumanji” franchise, “Bad Teacher”), Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Woman,” “Wonder Woman 1984”) and Joe Cornish (“Attack the Block,” “The Kid Who Would be King”) to helm a trio of live-action movies for Universal Pictures.
Plot details of the three untitled movies are yet to be revealed, but the filmmakers behind each project have been announced. All three films will be produced by the Lego Group’s Jill Wilfert and Ryan Christians.
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Kasdan will direct from a script written by Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul (“The D Train,” “The Grinder”). The project is based on an original idea and previous draft by Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows (“The Pickup,” “Animal Friends”). Kasdan will also produce the film with Melvin Mar under their Detective Agency banner.
Jenkins will direct from a script she co-wrote with Geoff Johns, reteaming after they co-wrote “Wonder Woman 1984” (with Dave Callaham). Jenkins will produce the movie through her Wicious Pictures.
Cornish will rewrite to direct the third film. Heather Anne Campbell (“Rick & Morty,” “One Punch Man”) wrote a previous draft of the script based on a treatment by Simon Rich (“Man Seeking Woman,” “Miracle Workers”).
Universal’s executive vice president of production development Matt Reilly and director of production development Jacqueline Garell will oversee these projects for the studio.
The three untitled movies will be produced under Universal and Lego’s ongoing partnership, which began more than a decade ago with the Lego Jurassic World product line and video games (which spawned multiple television projects). The Lego brand’s expansion into feature films began at Warner Bros. in 2014 with “The Lego Movie,” which has developed into a $1 billion-grossing franchise including subsequent titles, “The Lego Batman Movie,” “The Lego Ninjago Movie” and “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.”
Universal’s Focus Features most recently collaborated with Lego on Pharrell Williams’ biopic “Piece by Piece,” which was fully told via Lego animation. The film has been a critical success and recently earned two nominations for the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.
The Lego Group is represented by WME, which also represents Kasdan, Johns, Mider and Burrows. Kasdan is also repped by Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes LawCo. Mider and Burrows are also repped by Silver Lake Entertainment.
Jenkins, Cornish and Campbell are represented by CAA. Jenkins is also repped by Danny Passman at Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc. Cornish is also repped by Independent Talent in the U.K. and George Davis of The Davis Law Group. Campbell is also repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Yorn Levine.
Mogel and Paul are represented by Mosaic, UTA and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Kole. Rich is repped by UTA and Levine Greenburg Literary.
Deadline was first to report news of the upcoming projects.
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