11/11/2012

'Hotel Transylvania' sequel set for 2015


Sony Pictures thinks they may have found their first big animated franchise in Hotel Transylvania, and judging by the response to the first one they may be right. Opening late in September, monster comedy has done monster bucks at the box office, with over $250M at this point and still chugging along. So it's no surprise that the studio has already set the gears in motion for a sequel, slotting it for release on September 25th 2015.

All of the principle voice cast is expected to return but have not been confirmed yet, including Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi, and David Spade. I found the film to be extremely dull as it was targeted squarely at kids, but director Genndy Tartakovsky's energetic visuals and creative character design at least made it fun to look at. So there could be an issue as he won't be returning for the sequel as he's busy developing a Popeye film for 2014. Whoever takes his place is going to have a tough time living up the standard he set, so it'll be interesting to see who Sony goes with.[THR]