Fans of The Simpsons are bound to be a little disheartened by this news, but show creator Matt Groening and several-time director David Silverman have said that a sequel to 2007's hit movie adaptation, The Simpsons Movie, is not on the cards any time soon.
Speaking at UCLA's annual entertainment symposium on Saturday, Groening said "it took us four years [to make] and it killed us," adding that it "stole animators from the show". This certainly tallies up with what we've heard in previous reports, about the sheer enormity of the TV crew making a feature film.
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| Silverman and Groening at the 85th Academy Awards last month. |
Silverman (who helmed the first movie, and most recently directed the Oscar-nominated Simpsons short, The Longest Daycare) added "maybe another 10, 15 years", which seems fair, given that the first film arrived 18 years after the show's first series began. A shame nonetheless; The Simpsons Movie was an absolute triumph (for me, it was the best animated film of 2007) and turned over a tidy profit too. UPDATE - 11/03/2013, 16:41 (GMT): David Silverman seemed incredulous that he'd said any such thing, tweeting us "I really don't recall adding a statement like that. Something must have been misunderstood!" and a seemingly gobsmacked "It was in THR?!?".
@a113animation Who knows? Maybe a joke about show being on for another 10-15 years, I can't recall!
— David Silverman (@tubatron) March 11, 2013
Now on its 24th season and having surpassed 500 episodes, The Simpsons is a hallmark of longevity, and still manages to be entertaining after such a long while - something many TV shows can't say after one season. The story comes via The Hollywood Reporter, who've also got some quotes from Groening about what he thinks has made the show last.
Meanwhile, check out Bill Plympton's impressive film noir-inspired couch gag for the latest episode of the show. It's not quite as fun as his last one, but it's still pretty darn original.
Related posts: Bitesized Biographies #2 - Matt Groening
The Simpsons Movie was awesome but I quite understand why there won't be a second film for a long time. I don't know if the series will last for another 10 or 15 years though so there might not be a second movie at all. Still, this is one of my favorite series and I hope they will be on the air for many years to come.
ReplyDeleteMm, I do have my doubts about how long it will last sometimes. But, hey, it's lasted this long, and it's still pretty good!
ReplyDeleteIf all else goes downhill, I'd love a Simpsons Movie 2 as kind of a conclusion to the whole thing.