Chris McKay returns to theaters for the first time since 2017’s “The LEGO Batman Movie” with “Renfield” on April 14. And even though McKay directed “The Tomorrow War” in between, most movie fans still associate the director with his 2017 animated jaunt that features Will Arnett as the Caped Crusader. Both critics and fans loved “The LEGO Batman Movie,” so why didn’t LEGO and Warner Bros. ever make a sequel?
Well, LEGO signed an exclusive deal with Universal shortly after the film’s release, so there’s zero chance for a sequel now. But in a new interview with Uproxx, McKay divulged his idea for “LEGO Batman 2,” and it features an ambitious plot that explores the complicated dynamics between Batman and his frenemy Superman. “We had a really fun script with Dan Harmon and Michael Waldron, [who] wrote a really fun kind of “Superfriends,”” explained McKay. The sequel would’ve been a quasi “Superfriend”s movie, and the structure was going to be a sort of “Godfather II” kind of thing with Batman and the Justice League facing a modern-day problem, Lex Luthor and OMAC, while at the same time flashing back to the reasons why Batman and the Justice League – and in particular, Superman – have bad blood.”
Zack Snyder‘s “Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice” kind of explored this dynamic, but McKay’s vision sounds more enticing. “It was going to explore Superman and Batman’s relationship in a very different way than you’ve ever seen it portrayed,” continued McKay, “including Superman’s alienation from humanity and how hard it is to truly be friends, real friends, for years. It was ultimately going to answer the question: how do you become Super-friends? And there was going to be a crossover with a major franchise that can only happen in a LEGO movie.”
Channing Tatum voiced Superman in the “LEGO” movies, so imagine him and Arnett jawing at each other in McKay’s proposed sequel. But what’s more interesting here is the major franchise crossover McKay mentions. What would that entail? McKay remained mum on the topic for the rest of the Uproxx interview, but LEGO does have its advantages. Licensing issues aside, a potential Marvel-DC crossover is much more likely in the LEGO universe than a live-action blockbuster.
But speaking of licensing, LEGO’s current deal with Universal nixes any chance of McKay’s “LEGO Batman” sequel ever getting made. It still sounds like a fun idea, though. And who knows what McKay will work on next after “Renfield” hits theaters?
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