10 More Movies Already Cancelled In 2019 (And Why)
9. The Billion Brick Race
What We Knew
Off the back of The LEGO Movie's unexpected critical and commercial success, Warner Bros. announced in 2015 that a spin-off, The Billion Brick Race, was in development, with Jason Segel and Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3) set to co-write the film, with Pearce also directing.
With a release date set for May 24, 2019, plot details subsequently emerged that it would serve as a parody of racing movies like The Cannonball Run.
Why It Was Cancelled & The Future
The film has stalled several times over the last few years, as Pearce exited the director's chair and was replaced by Jorge R. Gutierrez (The Book of Life), who himself left the project last year.
But the real roadblock has been the fast-dwindling box office viability of the LEGO Movie brand itself. 2017's The LEGO Batman Movie grossed a fairly underwhelming $312 million (against initial expectations of $500+ million), while later that year The LEGO Ninjago Movie couldn't even double its sensible $70 million budget.
The biggest blow, however, came with the release of The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part earlier this year, which couldn't even crack $200 million worldwide, compared to the original film's $469.1 million. Yikes.
Analysts cited franchise fatigue and the series' commercial appeal being diluted by excessive spin-offs, which renders the prospect of The Billion Brick Race ever actually getting made basically zero.
If Warner Bros. hasn't given up on the LEGO Movie brand entirely, we'll get The LEGO Batman Movie 2 or The LEGO Movie 3, but another risky spin-off that doesn't even have a director attached? Not a chance.