From Deadline.com:
Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls is getting a sequel, and stars Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake will be back for it. Universal today [February 28, 2017] set an April 10, 2020, release for Trolls 2, a date they had set aside earlier as an untitled Universal event film.
This will be the follow-up to the 2016 hit that has made $339.5 million at the box office since its November bow. That was distributed by 20th Century Fox under DWA’s previous output deal before it was acquired by NBCUniversal. Now the new studio will take a crack at the franchise, with stars Kendrick and Timberlake as the eternal optimist Poppy and the curmudgeon Branch, respectively. The musical comedy-adventure scored a Best Song Oscar nom this year for Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” which won 2016’s most downloaded track.
Original director Mike Mitchell will not return for the sequel, we’re told. He signed on earlier this month to direct Warner Bros’ The Lego Movie sequel, and that pic has a February 8, 2019, release date.
"Can't Stop The Feeling" along with Rihanna's "Work" were two songs from last year I won't miss----but that's besides the point. I think it's ridiculous to announce a release date for a movie that far in advance. It's so hard to determine whether or not the movie will be ready by then, due to any factor under the moon. Either Anna Kendrick or Justin Timberlake could drop out. There could be changes in filming and production that could set that date back.
What happens if the movie is ahead of schedule? If studios are "booking" dates for movie releases years into the future, I might have to use a Hubert Farnsworth quote---What kind of planet is livable with this sort of marketing?
I've never been a fan of the hype over anything. It can be anything as simple as the iPhone or a major movie. This is my issue with the marketing: drive up the hype to limits never reached. This is one of my major issues with American society: an excessive need for hubris.
Maybe I'm reading too much into this movie, but I ask questions when we announce movies years ahead of their release.
