If The Simpsons were a pet dog, it would’ve been a kindness to lead it behind the barn and humanely blow its brains all over the wall years ago. Perhaps it’s cliche to point out just how much the show has plummeted in quality over the last few decades, but comparing what they’re doing now to their 90s golden age is almost painful. That’s why I’m not exactly over the moon that it’s sounding like 21st Century Fox is going to greenlight The Simpsons Movie 2.
It’s a somewhat curious move, especially as The Walt Disney Company is about to purchase Fox and all its IP – which includes The Simpsons. The thinking behind this apparently stems from Fox and Dreamworks Animation’s deal expiring, and as Disney rival Comcast owns Dreamworks Animation, they need to work in-house to ensure they get a steady schedule of animated movies in cinemas.
Perhaps the best idea for what the film should be about comes from Dirk Libbey over at CinemaBlend, who makes the case that The Simpsons Movie 2 should be the finale of the TV series. After all, it’s approaching its 30th anniversary, has exhausted nearly every conceivable plotline available to it and I don’t think many people would weep to see it finally ending.
I mean, what better way to drum up anticipation for a sequel nobody’s asking for than to bill it as the chance to say goodbye to a cast of characters that, despite all the odds, are still beloved by vast swathes of the world? It’d certainly be a way to encourage fans from the show’s golden age to turn up to wave farewell to Springfield.
All this might be academic though. No matter what Fox might want to do with the show, if Disney decides they want it to continue airing until the heat death of the universe, then that’s what’ll happen. Oh well, as Troy McClure once said: “Who knows what adventures The Simpsons will have between now and the time the show becomes unprofitable?”