Fresh off their recent success with The Lost City, Aaron and Adam Nee, collectively known as the Nee Brothers, will helm the upcoming LEGO film franchise at Universal Pictures.
This new endeavor comes after a deal with the LEGO Group that Universal inked back in 2020, allowing them to create new films and series based on the iconic building bricks. The proposed LEGO film will be a live-action/animated hybrid, a novel approach compared to the franchise's previous CGI-heavy features.
The Nee brothers, known for helming films such as The Last Romantic, Band of Robbers, and The Lost City, are well-versed in projects that blend comedy, adventure, and romance. Now, this talented duo is all set to bring their magic to the LEGO franchise.
Despite the recent cancelation of the Nee brothers' Masters of the Universe film by Netflix, this recent piece of news gives fans of the twosome plenty to look forward to. The shift of the LEGO film rights from Warner Bros. to Universal seems to be steering the franchise in a new direction, bringing about what Dan Lin, one of the producers behind the earlier LEGO films, calls a "complete reinvention" that stays true to the LEGO spirit.
The previous LEGO movies like The LEGO Movie and its sequel, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, The LEGO Batman Movie, and The LEGO Ninjago Movie were predominantly CGI-based and included references to the Warner Bros.' universe of characters. This new incarnation of the franchise, however, is expected to move away from this tradition. The LEGO films at Universal may forge their path, possibly limiting if not removing the references to Warner Bros.' characters entirely.