**Lego Movie **overlords Chris Miller and Phil Lord told us in January that they wouldn’t be returning to the director’s double decker couch for the sequel, and now we know who will be making himself at home: Community’s Rob Schrab{
Schrab, a man who has forged a successful writing and directing career on TV with the likes of the college comedy plus Workaholics, The Mindy Project, Parks And Recreation and The Sarah Silverman Program, hasn’t called the shots on a film before, but that might be why Lord and Miller – who are acting as co-writers and producers this time – chose him, because he’s an imaginative voice with a proven directing career.
“There’s a challenge to make each one feel like its own thing,” Miller told us last month. “Part of the fun is finding people like Charlie [Bean], who’s doing the Ninjago movie, and Chris McKay who did so much on the first film. Each of them have their own distinct voices and ideas for tone. So it will each have its own personality and not just be, ‘Hey, remember that last movie? Here’s another one just like it!” So that’s been a big challenge but so far it’s been going better than I expected."
With story input from Jared Stern, Michelle Morgan and McKay (who was also animation director and editor on the original), Lord and Miller have cooked up a concept and are busy working on the script. At least, we assume they are: at the time you read this, they could be napping.
Schrab also worked on the script for Monster House with Community’s Dan Harmon, so he knows something about helping to bring animation to the big screen. With Ninjago out next year and Lego Batman due in 2017, the** Lego Movie** sequel will be with us in 2018.