Here's Our First Look at the Angry Birds Movie, And Its All-Star Cast

Frankly, who knows whether the Angry Birds Movie will be good or terrible... But if this surprisingly great first look at the characters as they'll appear in the film - and the solid and diverse voice cast - is anything to go on, it might surprise us yet.

Animation Veterans/Directorial First-Timers Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly to Direct Angry Birds

Rovio are expanding their smash-hit Angry Birds franchise rapidly; what started life as a mobile game is now an all-spanning merchandise line, a series of animated shorts and, soon enough, an animated feature. Angry Birds, which will smash its way into cinemas (distributed by Sony) on 1st July, 2016, now has a pair of directors, says Entertainment Weekly.

Simpsons Writer and Clone Wars Producer Join Angry Birds

Rovio have announced that Jon Vitti, whose previous credits include The Simpsons and The Office, will pen the screenplay for their upcoming animated Angry Birds movie. Vitti, a Harvard graduate, won an Emmy for his work on King of the Hill, as well writing a couple of episodes of The US Office and being one of eleven credited writers for The Simpsons Movie. Worryingly though, he also co-wrote the Alvin and the Chipmunks film.

Sony Will Release Rovio's Angry Birds Film on 1st July, 2016

Rovio announced today that their Angry Birds animated movie will be released by Sony Pictures, and that the worldwide release date is currently set for 1st July, 2016. Rovio themselves - in the Marvel mould - are developing, producing and financing the film.

The film is being produced by John Cohen (Despicable Me) and executive produced by David Maisel (Iron Man). No word on a director or writer yet though.

In the meantime, Rovio's Angry Birds Toons are available to watch in-app every weekend!

Angry Birds: The Movie Due 2016!

Today, on the third anniversary of the release of the original Angry Birds, Rovio Entertainment announced that the planned film adaptation of the insanely popular mobile gaming series will hit cinemas in 2016!

John Cohen (Despicable Me) and former Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel (Iron Man) will produce and executive produce the film, which is being entirely produced and financed by Rovio themselves, respectively. Cohen has worked closely with Blue Sky Studios previously, but, worryingly, "had the idea to reimagine Alvin and the Chipmunks and developed the 2007 film." Otherwise, I'm pretty excited!

"Following Marvel Studios’ example, which was architected by David Maisel, Rovio will produce and finance the movie outside the studio system and retain full creative control while creating innovative entertainment at the highest level of quality." Says the press release.

Angry Birds: The Movie will have finished loading by summer 2016, and, who knows, maybe we'll see a film version of Angry Birds Star Wars one day - presumably after Disney have bought Rovio as well...