2016’s ‘The Angry Birds Movie’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Preview:
- Paramount has snatched up the ‘Angry Birds’ movie franchise from Sony.
- Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad and Danny McBride are back to lend their voices.
- ‘The Angry Birds Movie 3’ will be out on January 29th, 2027.
After flinging two movies at theaters in 2016 and 2019, it appears that Sony is ready to let go of the ‘Angry Birds’ franchise.
While it has made more than half a billion dollars so far with ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ and ‘The Angry Birds Movie 2,’ the company is no longer in charge of the franchise, which adapts the popular Rovio video game titles.
Paramount Pictures has now announced that it will be distributing the movies going forward, and has set ‘The Angry Birds Movie 3’ for release in a couple of years.
The third installment in The Angry Birds Movie franchise. Plot TBA. Read the Plot
It’s an interesting gamble, since ‘Angry Birds’ as a game doesn’t have quite the same cultural cachet as other titles –– its younger audience has moved on to others such as ‘Minecraft’ and ‘Fortnite.’
But as ‘Minecraft’ has just proved, video game movies can still do big business at the box office, and Paramount is clearly hoping that ‘Angry Birds’ will spawn the same sort of success as enjoyed by its own ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ franchise.
Just in case you’re not sure what we’re talking about…
What is the ‘Angry Birds’ franchise?
2016’s ‘The Angry Birds Movie’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Jaakko Iisalo created the original game for Rovio Entertainment in 2009, which focuses on the titular flock of colorful angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs.
Players look to take down the pigs and their structures by flinging the birds –– who have different destructive capabilities –– at the pigs via slingshots. Physics and comedy are intertwined in the games, which have grown into a series.
The original title also spawned a huge multimedia franchise of products and cartoons and SEGA acquired Rovio in 2023 (which might point to why Paramount is now involved, since SEGA also makes the ‘Sonic’ games and co-produces the movies).
‘The Angry Birds Movie’ featured the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Sean Penn, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Bill Hader, and Peter Dinklage.
The film is focused on Red (Sudeikis), an outcast in an island of anthropomorphic flightless birds, as he suspects a newly arrived crew of pigs led by Leonard (Hader) of plotting an evil plan, and attempts to put a stop to them with the help of his newfound friends Chuck (Gad) and Bomb (McBride).
Sequel ‘The Angry Birds Movie 2’ saw newcomers Leslie Jones, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina, Sterling K. Brown and Eugenio Derbez joining the ensemble voice cast.
In the story, the birds are forced to team up with the pigs to stop Eagle Island’s leader from destroying both of their islands.
Sudeikis, Gad, Bloom and McBride are all back for the third, with newcomers this time including Emma Myers, Keke Palmer, Tim Robinson, Lily James, Marcello Hernandez, Walker Scobell, Sam Richardson, Anna Cathcart, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Nikki Glaser, James Austin Johnson and Psalm West.
Plot details have not been released, but we can guess it’ll feature more conflict between our feathered friends and either the pigs or some new threat.
The new movie will come from director John Rice (who worked on ‘The Angry Birds Movie’) and writer Thurop Van Orman, who contributed to the script for ‘The Angry Birds Movie 2.’
And composer Heitor Pereiram, who scored the last two movies, is also back for the new one.
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‘The Angry Birds Movie 3’: The Backers Talk
2016’s ‘The Angry Birds Movie’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
As with any big release for a franchise film, especially with new owners, there was of course the statements of excitement from the producers and studio.
Here’s producer John Cohen:
“We’re very excited to be partnering with Paramount Pictures and extremely proud of our incredible cast. Not only do we have Jason, Josh, Rachel and Danny returning to voice their fantastic characters, but they’re surrounded by an all-star ensemble of comedic talent. These are some of the funniest people out there today, and we’re so thrilled to have them all on board.”
And this was the statement from Paramount president of worldwide marketing and distribution Marc Weinstock:
“Angry Birds transcends mediums and has been embraced and celebrated the world over. We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with SEGA/Rovio and these other great partners to bring this latest instalment, featuring an incredible voice cast, to big screens everywhere.”
This came from Flywheel Media boss Don McGregor:
“We’re thrilled to announce that our first theatrical distribution partnership is with Paramount Pictures. As a film production company focused on bringing the best family movies to global audiences, we couldn’t have a better start than ‘The Angry Birds Movie 3.’ ”
Finally, here’s Rovio’s Alex Pelletier-Normand:
“The Angry Birds brand has demonstrated remarkable versatility, evolving from a global mobile gaming phenomenon to licensed products, animation, and a thriving cinematic franchise. It has been a deeply collaborative effort to create a film that will resonate with the millions who interact with our catalog of games and products every day. We are confident that with this talented team at the helm, ‘The Angry Birds Movie 3’ will delight longtime fans and create new fans in those discovering our flock for the first time.”
When will ‘The Angry Birds Movie 3’ be in theaters?
Paramount’s announcement includes word that the new movie will be on screens on January 29th, 2027.
2016’s ‘The Angry Birds Movie’. Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing.
List of Movies in the ‘Angry Birds’ Franchise:
Buy ‘The Angry Birds’ Movies On Amazon