What's with all the hate towards the Lego™ film, anyway? I've been guilty of it, pretty much dubbing the toy-based film an awful idea from the beginning. But why? We see movies about toys come to life all the time, and while they aren't always gems, some have proven to be quite good. Toy Story, anyone? How about The Indian in the Cupboard? With Phil Lord and Chris Miller(Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs) directing(along with animator Chris McKay), there's a pretty good chance this could be fun, and based on today's news it might even be awesome.
This is a Warner Brothers movie, and since they have access to the entire DC Comics library of characters, it only makes sense to use them as much as possible. So it's pretty awesome to learn that Batman and Superman will be two of the Lego characters present in Lego: The Piece of Resistance. Even better? Batman may be voiced by Will Arnett, with Channing Tatum as Superman. Sold. Arnett seems to be all but locked up, but Tatum's schedule will need to free up if he's going to be involved. Chris Pratt(Parks and Recreation) is set to voice the lead character, a regular Lego figure named Emmett. Tatum worked with Lord and Miller on 21 Jump Street, and we all know how that worked out.
The story sounds pretty darn cool, as well. When Emmett is mistaken for being a Master Builder Lego, he gets drafted into a fellowship on a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the universe together. Ok, that's kinda tight, you must admit. Could we be looking at a Lego Lord of the Rings with an all superhero-type cast? It's possible Batman and Superman may only be around for a brief cameo, but would they bother reaching out to Tatum in that case? Probably not. So I'm hoping that they're just the first of many recognizable heroes as part of the team.
Lego: The Piece of Resistance is due to open on February 8th 2014. [Variety]
