Love it or loathe it, the Barden Bellas are returning in 2017, and Variety has revealed that Elizabeth Banks will return at the helm for Universal’s musical threequel, Pitch Perfect 3.
Following up her directorial debut on Pitch Perfect 2 earlier this year, Banks will welcome back key players of the famed a-capella group, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow. Mind you, considering that the studio pulled in an eye-watering $285 million on the back of a meagre $29 million budget with the sequel, it’s little wonder why Universal was keen to secure the director once again as it looks to complete the musical trilogy.
Alongside Banks behind the camera will be Kay Cannon, the same scribe that has helped pen both Pitch Perfect scripts thus far, and they’ll hope to build upon that success in a couple of years’ time. And though Banks landing the gig for Pitch Perfect 3 is certainly a major coup, the actress-cum-director has already set up Red Queen at Universal, while there’s already a lot of buzz surrounding her involvement in the Charlie’s Angels reboot currently incubating over at Sony.
As for the budding Pitch Perfect universe, Banks will be keen to set the record straight after the sequel largely failed to escape the shadow of its predecessor. Lacklustre dialogue and poor character building meant that Pitch Perfect 2 paled in comparison to the original, despite a few highlights peppered here and there – Das Sound Machine, for instance – though there’s already talk of series newcomer Hailee Steinfeld taking on a more prominent role amongst the a-capella groups. Will it be enough to channel the magic of the original? Time will tell.
Pitch Perfect 3 has been slated for a release on August 4th, 2017, slotting into the spot once occupied by Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim 2, which has been delayed indefinitely.