'The Lego Movie 2' News: New Film to Feature More Female Characters
The film industry is realizing that it needs to improve the ways it represents female audiences, as a lot of films that feature women in the lead role are expected to be released soon. There's DC's Cinematic Universe's "Wonder Woman" film which is slated to premiere in 2017, and the all-female "Ghostbusters" reboot, not to mention the "Captain Marvel" film which will be released in a few years.
Recently, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the writers and directors behind the "Lego Movie," said that they are planning to add more female characters to the sequel.
"It's important to us that the movie plays broadly and that we inspire young women as much as we inspire young men," said Lord in an interview with BBC.
The "Lego Movie" was a smash hit early this year as it raked in $468 million worldwide. The movie featured the voices of Morgan Freeman, Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, and Will Arnett. The film had a female supporting character—freedom fighter Wyldstyle, voiced by Elizabeth Banks, but it was clear that the film was sorely lacking in female characters, even with Cobie Smulders providing the voice of Wonder Woman, but the character was hardly in the film at all.
When asked what female roles were planned for "Lego Movie 2," Miller said, "I don't want to give spoilers but there will be more female characters and more female stuff."
Lord also mentioned Disney's "Frozen" as an example of what moviegoers actually want to see.
"You can feel that the whole movie culture is now starting to wake up to the fact that half the audience are women," Lord said. "'Frozen' is reflective of that—and I think we are all going to find a great flourishing of women film makers and subject matter in the future."
Two "Lego Movie" spinoffs will premiere ahead of the sequel— "Ninjago," slated for a 2016 release, and "Lego Batman" which will premiere in 2017.
The "Lego Movie 2" is expected to premiere on May 25, 2018.
