When The Simpsons Movie hit theaters in 2007, fans of the long-running cartoon flooded theaters to see the bumbling, yellow family take their adventures to the big screen. And, now, it’s been confirmed that the folks behind The Simpsons have talked about making a sequel.
Al Jean, EP of The Simpsons, was asked about the possibility of a sequel at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. He told fans, “We talk about it, but if we do it we only want to do it if it’s going to be really good. We would never do it just to cash in, so if it comes out it’s because we believe in it.”
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Jean’s statement somewhat mirrors creator Matt Groening’s thoughts as he’s previously said a sequel wasn’t a “priority” for the series. Since the movie essentially drained the show’s animators, Groening said he’d be hesitant to put them through that again – but he didn’t rule out the possibility.
Clearly, there are no definitive plans create a sequel to The Simpsons Movie. And, when you consider the amount of effort it took to make the first film, it’s understandable as to why. The Simpsons Movie famously underwent over a hundred rewrites as its script kept being tweaked. In fact, the script was still being rewritten after animation and voice acting had started, forcing filmmakers to ultimately cut out cameos from talent such as Minnie Driver, Isla Fisher, and Edward Norton.
This is not the first time Jean has teased the possibility of a sequel. Early in January 2015, Jean and David Mirkin took to Twitter to announce an upcoming episode of The Simpsons was being held back. “The Man Who Came to Be Dinner” was removed as the episode’s plot was being closely considered for adaptation into a film. However, no developments moved forward in translating the episode to film, so there’s room left for a different story to inspire the team to create the much-wanted sequel to The Simpsons Movie.
