UPDATE: Universal has just confirmed that they have successfully signed both Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson to reprise their roles as Beca and Fat Amy respectively. The studio has released a teaser image of both actresses proving their return for Pitch Perfect 2. So far, Kendrick and Wilson are the only confirmed cast for the sequel.
Original story follows:
Female-driven acapella comedy, Pitch Perfect proved to be one of 2012’s biggest surprise hits, making it small wonder that Universal quickly green-lit a sequel. Now, the studio has finally confirmed that the movie will be releasing on May 15th, 2015. It will be competing against the long-gestating blockbuster sequel, Mad Max: Fury Road.
Pitch Perfect 2 doesn’t have an explicitly confirmed cast list, but it’s believed that Anna Kendrick will be reprising her lead role of Beca, and Rebel Wilson will be returning to her fan-favourite supporting character, Fat Amy, at the very least. It’s also pretty well certain that Elizabeth Banks will return as barbed commentator, Gail.
Why? Well, Banks is apparently directing the sequel! This marks her feature directorial debut after much success as a comedic actress in movies like The Forty Year-Old Virgin and Role Models, as well as recently-concluded television comedy, 30 Rock. Banks has also made a more recent name for herself in the high-profile role of Effie Trinkett in the Hunger Games movies, and broke out beforehand as Betty Brandt in Sam Raimi’s former Spider-Man movie trilogy.
Universal’s only official comment at this point is that the sequel will still revolve around the first movie’s acapella group, the Barden Bellas. Beyond that, the plot of Pitch Perfect 2 is being kept heavily under wraps.
While Pitch Perfect has proven wildly popular with female viewers, even various male viewers and journalists have admitted to enjoying the movie as a potent guilty pleasure. Here’s hoping that the sequel will find similar success, as it would mean a very welcome new franchise for Universal, and better still, one friendly to a female audience.
Were you among the many people who were pleasantly surprised by Pitch Perfect back in 2012? If so, what kind of sequel do you hope materializes for the movie? Do you even want a sequel at all? Feel free to leave your comments below.
In the meantime, Eggplante will be harmonizing your Pitch Perfect news, as the beat drops.