Unfortunately for fans of 2013 hit animated comedy, The Croods, any hope of a sequel has gone extinct. Variety reports Dreamworks and parent company Universal have decided to scrap plans for the follow-up to the $587M-grossing movie, which they have been developing for more than two years.
The original film featured the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, and followed a prehistoric family as they tried to find a new home. It was a big hit during a time when Dreamworks sorely needed one, and franchise plans were set in motion pretty quickly. The sequel's release date was set for December 2017, and new writers Kevin and Dan Hageman were hired last summer to pen the screenplay. That release date got bumped to 2018 when Dreamworks jumped from 20th Century Fox to Universal.
Apparently the film had already been in some turmoil and Dreamworks was about to scrap it even before Universal took over. But things must be pretty awkward now because Universal also owns Illumination Entertainment, home to Despicable Me, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, and Sing. There may be an attempt to merge both companies but it's clear Universal's focus is on the proven studio right now. Dreamworks still has How to Train Your Dragon 3 coming up in 2018 alongside a couple of lesser-known titles. Fans of The Croods can still check out the Dawn of the Croods animated series currently on Netflix.
