Warner Bros. is working with Australian-based animation company Animal Logic (Happy Feet, Legend of the Guardians) to move forward with a live action-animated hybrid movie based on the popular LEGO building blocks with plans for a 2014 release. With an incentive from the Australian government and the state of New South Wales to make the movie entirely on the continent, the new movie will be an action-adventure set in a world made up of LEGOs with casting for the live action actors starting in January.
The project has been in development at Warner Bros for over three years when the studio began working with the LEGO Company on developing a family comedy written by Dan and Kevin Hageman, and then brought on Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) to write and direct in 2010. They recently brought “Robot Chicken” stop-motion director Chris McKay on as a co-director for LEGO under Lord and Miller.
Working closely with the Danish company–LEGO VP of licensing and entertainment, Jill Wilfert, is one of the executive producers along with Seanne Winslow of Lin Pictures–the film will continue the relationship between Warner Bros. and LEGO that has produced numerous toys and videogames based on Warner Bros. properties including Batman and Harry Potter. It was announced at Comic-Con that LEGO will have access to all of DC Entertainment’s comic book characters and stories to launch DC Universe figures and playsets starting in January, which will include Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and others.
