Her work directing Pitch Perfect 2 made her an in-demand filmmaker beyond her normal acting roles, but the success of the sequel has pushed Elizabeth Banks from the director's chair for the third film.
Banks, who is developing a variety of projects, including YA adaptation Red Queen and a new cinematic take on Charlie's Angels in addition to playing villain Rita Repulsa in the latest Power Rangers film, has cited clashing schedules and the needs of her family in her decision to step aside from the big chair on the next Pitch Perfect. “We have been in development and it took longer than we thought, and I needed to shoot another movie in the summer," she told the Produced By conference at the weekend. "If we pushed into fall it bumped up against my parental responsibilities, which made me feel uncomfortable."
She's staying aboard as a producer, however, and will be back as competition commentator Gail. And she'll also be involved in recruiting her replacement, finding the right person to take on the latest step for the Barden Bellas. Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow are all confirmed to return alongside writer Kay Cannon. As for the film, it was recently pushed back from summer 2017 to December the same year, with Universal figuring it could act as counter programming to that year's Star Wars entry.