Universal and Gold Circle found themselves with a breakout hit back in 2012 when college-set musical comedy Pitch Perfect took off in a big way, earning huge dollars at the box office and burning up the bestseller charts for its a capella-heavy soundtrack. Especially when you add in extremely positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, the green-lighting of Pitch Perfect 2 was never in doubt. Now, however, what that sequel will look like is a little more certain as Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson have officially signed on to reprise their roles.
Kendrick will return as lead character Beca Mitchell, who, in the first Pitch Perfect, joined all-female a capella group the Barden Bellas and led them to victory at a national a capella competition. Meanwhile, Wilson will once again take on the role of Fat Amy, a spirited and somewhat eccentric member of the Bellas.
Universal locking these two into place was key to getting traction on the sequel. Kendrick, previously Oscar-nominated for Up in the Air, achieved massive popularity after Pitch Perfect, with her rendition of the song “Cups” going triple platinum when released as a single. As for Wilson, her star has been rising ever since Bridesmaids, and the comedienne currently toplines an ABC comedy called Super Fun Night. Fans of the first film would have likely balked at the idea of a sequel without either actress.
Elizabeth Banks, who produced and co-starred in the first film, will sit in the director’s chair this time around, and Universal has penciled the film in for release in the franchise-heavy summer of 2015. Kay Cannon returns to pen the script.
Given how great Kendrick and Wilson were in the first film, their involvement on the sequel is a promising sign indeed. Hopefully the studio will be able to fashion deals with the other supporting cast members, including Skylar Astin, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Ester Dean and Alexis Knapp, in coming weeks. With Pitch Perfect 2 set to roll cameras sometime in the first half of 2014, I’d expect we’ll be seeing more casting announcements before the end of the month.
Do you think the sequel will manage to hit all the right notes again, or will this film be simply aca-awful? (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) Let us know in the comments section.
Pitch Perfect 2 hits May 15, 2015.