LEGO Movie 2 'will feature more female characters'
Posted by Huw,
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who wrote and directed The LEGO Movie, have told the BBC, in an article published yesterday, that they will create more female role models for the sequel, perhaps as a result of the success of Frozen:
"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."
Miller added: "There's been a real shortage of [female protagonists] in recent years and I think that the near future will be very different." and "I don't want to give spoilers but there will be more female characters and more female stuff."
We have a long time to wait to find out more given that The LEGO Movie 2 isn't out until 2018...
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21 comments on this article
Huh? I think this article shouldn't come from a writer who totally forget there are girls-oriented LEGO themes like Friends with obvious female protagonists. He better focus more on LEGO before gender issue.
I'm fine with the two ladies from the original cast. If something is missing, the next female character could be a villainess (there are female bots but TLM1 generally only focused on two human evil guys). I also think Gail and Mrs. Scratchen-Post have good potentials in this story.
If the sequel is not going to focus on Emmet himself, they could write a storyline for a new female figure (and her possible counterpart from the "real world"). But not sure if they like that.
And Frozen doesn't sound like a good example because Disney didn't exist in TLM1 world. :p Of course if Disney get into TLM2, Elsa would be a great incentive.
I do not mind what the gender balance is between the characters as long as we are treated to another great movie.
If the acting is solid and the story great, then go ahead and do what you want in this movie.
I know a lot of AFOLs hate the Friends minidolls but personally I'd like to see one as a character, or at least appear in some capacity just like the MKaster Builders did - just as I'd like to see a BIONICLE figure as well as any other non-system lines that are going on at the time of the movie. Would make it seem more like a wholly Lego movie and not just a Lego System movie.
Most excellent. As the Lego-loving father of a Lego-loving daughter, I totally approve.
Just so there's not an over abundance of romance.
Well this has me worried. "Shortage of female protagonists..."
What movies has he been watching? Sure, there aren't a lot of, uh, "good" movies with female protagonists, but I would think the Milla Jovoviches of the world would disagree that there's a lack of them out there in Hollywoodland.
I don't mind additional characters as long as they're not cheap, 1D stereotypes Hollywood focuses on for action movies.
^ Not to mention Hunger Games...
'Frozen' suggests to me the thinking was more along the lines of 'hang on, if we have two princesses, we can sell twice as many dolls'. It's not as though Disney films have been short of female leads in the past.
But still, LEGO has been a bit biased in its minifigures in the past. Whether that means a greater proportion of female minifigures or Friends mini-dolls in the movie, it sounds like an improvement for a wider audience.
I liked the way (thanks to the Warner connection) they were able to use such a major licence as Batman in just an accompanying role. It would be great if, via the mini-dolls, they could introduce a Disney Princess in a similar role, but the licensing may get in the way (although there was a brief appearance of Star Wars in the last movie, now a Disney property).
The shortage of female protagonists is well-known and indisputable ("Only 15 Percent of Top Films in 2013 Put Women in Lead Roles, Study Finds" -- NY Times headline). As for LEGO being "a bit biased in its minifigures in the past," the statistic I see repeated is that the male to female ratio is 18 to 1.
Phew,now feminists will finally stop nagging lego.I don't really mind the genders as long as the film is decent.
Huw - you do realise even the hunger games, that admittedly has a female lead, of the seven main characters only one is female the other six are male...
Peeta, Gale, President Snow, Cinna, Haymitch, Caesar Flickerman.
That its presented as an amazing evening up of the sexes for hollywood speaks volumes.
I just hope there are more space and Star Wars designs and characters in it. Hey, maybe I am a nerd!
Go Benny! Maybe Benny will get a girlfriend!
I hope they just don't add a ton of new characters to the movie.... It might make it confusing! They also are fighting DUPLO people, so that will appeal to the younger kids, but more girls? There's already Wildstyle, along with Wonder Woman, so... I hope they just take some of the girls from the first one and give them a bigger role.
As long as they keep it all minifigs I don't care if the whole move is female as long as it's good. I hope they mean the money Frozen made and not the movie itself because as someone who was forced it watch it over and over again with my niece it was a terrible movie.
Since the near-total lack of *older* females in Hollywood movies is regarded by many as an even more serious problem than the relative lack of strong female leads, the solution is obvious--Ms. Scratchenpost is going to be the star in the next movie! (We saw a hint of that in the scene where she's furiously driving the chariot pulled by her cats, after all.)
Of course, Wonder Woman's no spring chicken herself...and Batman, after all, is on the rebound. Plenty of potential for intrigue there too!
Just wish we didn't have to wait so long to find out. :-(
That's fine with me. So long as this doesn't mean outrageously sappy music like Frozen has to offer...
@NexusRiles: You're probably right. At the end of TLM, you can see Benny and Unikitty hugging.
UNIKITTY MOVIE 2018 CONFIRMED.
EDIT: Wait, wasn't there some blurb about Marvel characters in TLM2?
More =/= better
If they can do both, that would be great, but I'd rather that they focused on quality over quantity.
IMO, Unikitty will be the main role, as we didn't see what happen to her home post-film, but Batman added to make it for all and earn maybe $270 million.
Friends minidoll characters. XD
If more female characters = Friends characters, I will be pissed.
I am a female and I love the "normal" Lego sets. I don't know why Lego even made the Friends sets to begin with. But I am almost 30 and grew up with two brothers who loved aquatic, arctic, space and castle legos.
Also I would love to see a UniKitty origin story. And a Benny origin story.