To quote one of the best Simpson bits-turned-meme: “Stop! Stop! He’s already dead!”
One of TV’s longest-running series will continue into the indefinite future with Disney’s support after the purchase of Fox. And now, that hellish monopoly has threatened us with an unavoidable evil we all knew we’d have to deal with eventually. Executive producer Al Jean confirmed over the weekend at D23 that the House of Mouse is considering a sequel to 2007’s The Simpsons Movie.
While Mr. Jean didn’t elaborate too much on the subject, he tacitly stated that he and Disney have talked about a potential follow-up to last decade’s box office smash. Al also confirmed there were talks pertaining to a potential spinoff show, maybe a short series or limited televisual event type deal. While the prickly producer was tight-lipped, his buddy and fellow EP Matt Selman had a little more to say:
“I think Disney would be supportive of anything we wanted to do, maybe a crazy limited series with a side character or a movie that we surprised you with, they’ve been really creatively supportive and this is going to afford so many new ways to do the show than just the traditional format.”
While the OG Simpson film made over $500 million at the box office, it was almost a creator killer. Matt Groening famously detests the movie, even murdering a fan who asked about it during an episode of Futurama. Heck, he’s still ragging on it currently, as in literally at Comic Con last month, saying: “This is a true answer. The first Simpsons Movie almost killed us. That was in 2007. We’re almost recovered. Almost.” That sounds, uh, unappealing?
But with our corporate overlords mandating it, it seems as though The Simpsons Movie 2: Homer’s Big Boogaloo is, much like Thanos, inevitable. I dunno, maybe I’m being too cynical. I’m pretty sure I’m in the majority when I say current seasons of the base show suck out loud. I’d be even more correct in saying the series hasn’t been good in a decade. But whatever. Who cares? Give us more Simpsons to consume! Woo!