TheNight at the Museumfranchise was a surprise hit for 20th Century Fox at the time of its release, with the trilogy grossing a collective $1.35 billion upon original release. Despite mixed reviews from critics, the films were massive popular with younger audiences as they blended tales of historical figures like PresidentTeddy Roosevelt, Attila the Hun, SacagaweaandNapoleon Bonapartewith an entertaining family-friendly romp complete with CGI dinosaurs and slapstick comedy from its starBen Stiller.
The director of the original trilogy,Shawn Levy -soon to be directingRyan ReynoldsandHugh JackmaninDeadpool 3- has moved from the director’s chair into the production seat for the franchise, but he has been making the rounds to promote the latest offering, entitledNight at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, which takes the franchise in a new direction via the medium of animation.
Speaking with Collider’s editor-in-chiefSteve Weintraub, Levy revealed that the move to animation came because the creative team behind the series felt it was too soon to reboot the franchise in its live-action form, with the final film in the original trilogy being released in 2014. However, Levy noted that development is underway to turn the franchise into a Broadway musical.
RELATED:‘Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again’: Release Date, Trailer, Cast, and Everything We Know So Far
So we started developing a Broadway musical, which I have co-written the script for, and Alan Menken has written all of the songs. So we’re exploring and developing the stage musical version with Alan Menken. And the other thing was this animated movie because I thought, this is a way to go to another chapter without dealing with recasting Ben Stiller and all these other characters and actors who are still very much vibrant and in the culture. And it also gave me the potential to do some things visually that we could never afford to do in the movies.
The news of the film making the leap to the stage is certainly an intriguing one. But when could audiences expect it, if work has already been underway and the songs have been written? Well, it’s not entirely great news. Apparently, the turnaround time for a Broadway musical isn’t as quick as most would like it to be, although Levy is optimistic that we’ll see it on the stage sooner rather than later.
Well, I’m here to tell you that the pace of Broadway development is it makes movie development look lightning quick. It’s super frustrating. But we have had our first workshop. We have the script, we have the songs. And as you’ve probably heard, COVID had a devastating impact in every form of exhibition. But it really took its toll on Broadway and on the theaters in New York. And as you can imagine,Night at the Museumis not the kind of small show that you can try out in a small town in Connecticut. It’s a big installation piece of musical theater. So it is not five to 10 years away, but it’s not a year away either. I’d say it’s somewhere in between. But we’re feeling really bullish about it because our workshop was really successful, and I think the material is feeling really good to the powers that be. So it becomes a matter of waiting for theater availability
In the meantime, if folks need their fix of Larry Daley (Stiller,in the original trilogy), and his son Nick (played byJoshua Barrettfor the sequel), they can head to the Museum of Natural History via Disney+ now.you’re able to check out the trailerforNight at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Againdown below.
