You Can’t Stop the ‘Trolls’ Sequel From Hitting Theaters in 2020
DreamWorks and Universal’s surprise animated hit is — unsurprisingly — getting a sequel. The news comes on the heels of Justin Timberlake’s charismatic opening number at the 2017 Oscars earlier this week — something most of you probably forgot all about at least two hours before Envelopegate even happened, somewhere between candy parachutes and that weird tour bus interlude.
Deadline reports that Universal and DreamWorks have set an April 10, 2020 release date for Trolls 2, the follow-up to last year’s animated musical based on those candy-haired toys that collected dust on your shelf because you had no idea what else to do with them in first grade. Timberlake will return for the sequel as the cynical Branch (that’s certainly a name), of course, along with Anna Kendrick as the optimistic Poppy.
It’s unclear if director Mike Mitchell will return to helm Trolls 2; he recently signed on to direct The LEGO Movie Sequel, replacing previous director Rob Schrab for the follow-up to Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s 2014 mega-hit.
Trolls grossed $339.5 million at the box office, making news of the sequel inevitable. The first film was released through DreamWorks Animation’s distribution deal with 20th Century Fox. Since then, the animation company was acquired by NBC Universal, which will distribute the sequel.