‘The Lego Movie’ Sequel Will Address Gender Issues
Although they may have stepped down from their directing chairs, Phil Lord and Chris Miller are still at the helm of story, being asked to perform rewrites for The Lego Movie sequel. From what we’ve gathered, the second film will follow a theme that has revolved around the profoundly celebrated Lego name: gender.
In an interview with Collider, producers Dan Lin and Chris McKay have stated the next film will deal with gender issues, primarily the similarities and differences in regards to toys. The Lego Movie ended with a statement from Finn’s father, insisting his son shares his playtime with his little sister, resulting in the invasion of Duplo creations (Lego’s infant-friendly line) into Finn’s imaginary world.
The sequel will continue to explore his sister’s perspective and insight into the Lego world, according to Lin:
“We are going to The Lego Movie 2. The team is all back together, so it’s [Phil] Lord and [Chris] Miller, myself and Chris McKay. Mike Mitchell is the new voice who’s coming in to direct the movie. Chris and Phil are rewriting the script right now, but we’re in production. We’re picking up where the first movie left us, where the Duplo have now come and they’re attacking Bricksburg. It’s several years later, and you’re going to see the result of that.”
McKay goes on to explain what this could mean for the film, franchise, and brand as a whole:
“The Duplo represents Finn’s sister, Finn being the little boy from the live-action. The Duplo is her. The man upstairs said, “You’ve gotta play with your sister. That’s the thing you’ve gotta promise me. I’ll let you play with my world, but now you’ve gotta let your sister come in and play with your world.” Now, she’s coming in, and that’s the major thing that the movie is about. What’s different and similar about gender, when a boy plays vs. how a girl plays? What kinds of stories are there? Chris and Phil are super fucking smart and really thoughtful and sensitive writers. The kinds of questions and the interesting ideas that they’re getting into with this movie, it’s going to be like the first Lego Movie was, where it’s about something else that’s really profound. I’m really excited about where the movie is gonna go because it’s about these things that are actual notions that people have that might even be unconscious biases, where people don’t even realize that that’s the way they’re looking at the world. You can do that in a movie like this, and still have it be a great musical with fun songs, and have action and all of the other crazy things we’re gonna get into with that movie. It’s gonna be a really special movie.”
Lin reassures fans of the original main character, Finn, that he won’t be replaced for his sister, but the story will instead combine the two imaginations, giving two unique perspectives on the story:
“Every one of our movies, so far, have been told from the point of view of one kid’s imagination. The Lego Movie 2 will be the first one told through two kids’ imaginations – Finn and his sister. It’s going to be really interesting juxtaposing those two different visions.”
Although a seemingly youthful, carefree, animated movie, The Lego Movie used this presumption to their advantage to instead provoke a deep, emotionally-driven narrative, one that addresses the moment when adults cease to treat toys as something other than playthings, as well as touching on difficult relationships between fathers and sons. It sounds like the team is aiming to do this once again, this time letting the ladies have a little more of the spotlight, something the Lego brand has struggled with for decades.
The Lego Movie sequel already sounds like a success and this news has made us even more impatient for the film, which will release February 8, 2019.
What are your thoughts on Finn’s sister taking the lead in the next Lego Movie? Let us know!
Source: Collider
