The LEGO Movie Hitting Netflix Is A Painful Reminder Of The Franchise's 5-Year Slumber

Summary The LEGO Movie's Netflix debut highlights a 5-year franchise hiatus, despite its initial $1 billion success and critical acclaim.

Universal's acquisition from Warner Bros. in 2020 led to uncertainty for The LEGO Movie 3, with details scarce on the sequel.

The LEGO Movie franchise has vast potential for storytelling, creative adaptation of characters, and must continue despite its recent slumber.

The LEGO Movie has officially landed on Netflix, but its arrival is a painful reminder of the franchise's five-year slumber. When The LEGO Movie hit theaters in 2024, it surprised audiences by exceeding expectations and launching a successful film franchise. Since the first movie debuted, the franchise has gone on to gross over $1 billion, proving it was a huge hit. Most films within The LEGO Movie franchise also received strong reviews which showed how much potential the series had; however, despite the original movie making its way to Netflix, the series hasn't produced any content in years.

There has been no shortage of big names associated with The LEGO Movie as Chris Pratt, Jackie Chan, Will Ferrell, and Morgan Freeman all appeared in the franchise with plenty of other huge stars also being involved. While everything seemed to be going right for the series, The LEGO Movie 2's box office bomb had a big impact and quickly changed things. Although the film's financial struggles weren't disastrous, there hasn't been another installment since, making the first LEGO Movie's arrival on Netflix all the more painful as it is a reminder of the franchise's dormant state.

The LEGO Movie Is Now On Netflix - But There Hasn't Been A New Movie In 5 Years

The LEGO Movie's Netflix Arrival Is A Reminder Of The Franchise's Cinematic Absence

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Although The LEGO Movie has made it to Netflix, the franchise hasn't released a movie in five years. While the series produced four feature-length films in a five-year span, the following five years have seen the franchise in a deep slumber, leaving questions about its future. The LEGO Movie 3 is confirmed, but surprisingly, there haven't been any major updates on the project since 2022. Jill Wilfert even explained why The LEGO Movie ended, meaning the franchise's slumber was seemingly supposed to be permanent before it was revived.

The LEGO Movie 3 does not have an official release date.

With the first movie arriving on Netflix, it is a reminder of its charm and quality, making this five-year absence all the more painful. The movie did an excellent job of using established characters while creating new ones to produce a memorable movie, and the franchise has only grown since then. The LEGO Batman Movie also showed how well it could adapt some of DC's most renowned heroes and villains, adding to the frustration around the series' hiatus. Additionally, the franchise's popularity and success make it even more confusing as to why the next movie is taking so long.

What's Going On With The LEGO Movie Franchise?

Universal Bought The Rights To The LEGO Movie Franchise From Warner Bros. In 2020

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While The LEGO Movie's 5-year absence is disappointing, there is also a solid reason behind it. Warner Bros. was responsible for producing all four films, but after the financial struggles of The LEGO Movie 2, the studio sold the rights to Universal. Naturally, this led to future plans being scrapped and left Universal with a blank canvas to operate from. They may still choose to do a direct follow-up to one of the previous movies, but this may involve changing several voice actors or having to negotiate new deals which could cause complications for the upcoming sequel.

There aren't many details about the next film other than its confirmation, but under Universal, The LEGO Movie franchise is expected to continue in some capacity. How Universal will choose to proceed with the story and what characters will return are anyone's guess, but despite all the years of uncertainty, the franchise will return in the future. The LEGO Movie 3 will undoubtedly face challenges when it comes to repeating the magic of the previous installments, but if Universal can put its own spin on things and get creative, the sequel still has a lot of potential.

Why The LEGO Movie Franchise Needs To Continue

The LEGO Movie Franchise Has Nearly Unlimited Story Potential

Despite all the problems surrounding The Lego Movie's future, the franchise needs to continue. The film series has almost unlimited potential as the LEGO branding provides so much creativity. While there hasn't been a feature-length film in half a decade, LEGO has continued to produce all sorts of media over the years due to the brand's flexibility and broad appeal. While LEGO predominantly caters to a younger demographic, some of its games and particularly the feature-length films have captured an older audience as the witty and light-hearted nature of LEGO's media is easy to get invested in.

Related All The LEGO Movies Ranked, Worst To Best Now that The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is out in theaters, here's our ranking of the Lego Movie franchise so far from worst to best.

Given the number of high-profile franchises LEGO has worked with, The LEGO Movie series can easily include some huge characters and provide fresh takes on them, leading to infinite possibilities. The film franchise has also proven it can work with big actors and create interesting original characters that can win the audience over. Its financial and critical history is mostly positive, suggesting there is just as much to be gained for Universal as there is for the viewers, and The LEGO Movie's creative world alongside its ability to entertain makes it a truly unique franchise that needs to return.