This summer, winter is coming. Rovio Animation and Sony Pictures have released the first teaser trailer The Angry Birds Movie 2, the sequel to Rovio’s own feature adaptation of their massive video game franchise.
This teaser, along with some decent slapstick, introduces us to the sequel’s main antagonist Zeta, voiced by Leslie Jones of Saturday Night Live. Tired of her isolated life on her frozen island, the purple bird hatches a conquest plan that will threaten both the Angry Birds and the Bad Piggies.
In addition to Jones, other new cast members in the sequel include Rachel Bloom (BoJack Horseman), Sterling K. Brown (Frozen 2), Eugenio Derbez (The Book of Life), Zach Woods (The Lego Ninjago Movie), Lil Rel Howery (Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure), Dove Cameron (Marvel Rising), Beck Bennett (Sing), and rappers Awkwafina and Nicki Minaj. None of their roles has been disclosed as of yet.
As for the main returning characters, all the actors return to reprise their roles, with the likes of Jason Sudeikis as Red, Josh Gad as Chuck, Danny McBride as Bomb, Bill Hader as King Mudbeard, and Peter Dinklage as Mighty Eagle.
The sequel will be in the hands of a new directing and writing team. Writing duties are being handled by Peter Ackerman, co-writer of the first and third Ice Age films. For directing, this will serve as the directorial debut of Thurop Van Orman, best known as the creator of Cartoon Network’s The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack.
Just like before, Finland-based Rovio Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, and John Cohen are producing the film, with Sony Pictures Imageworks once again providing the computer animation. One unusual tidbit to note is that the sequel will carry the Sony Pictures Animation banner, despite the fact they had no involvement with the first film.
The first Angry Birds film was released back in May 2016 and earned a successful $352 million worldwide. It received mixed reviews, although deemed by some as one of the better video game-based movies. Of course, as I myself thought the first was a mixed bag, the sequel looks to feature plenty of room to improve upon its predecessor.
Sony Pictures will release The Angry Birds Movie 2 in North American cinemas on August 16, 2019, closely coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the Angry Birds franchise.
