After working primarily with Sony Pictures for the past decade, franchise masterminds Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are taking their banner Lord Miller Productions to Universal Pictures after signing a first-look deal with the studio, according to Deadline.
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The duo have proven to be one of the most acclaimed and successful voices in the film industry for the past decade, with their directorial debut Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs garnering very positive reviews and grossing almost $250 million at the global box office, spawning a sequel that largely replicated the success of the original under different directors. They would go on to spawn the film adaptation franchise of the Jump Street TV series with Jonah Hill (Mid90s) and Channing Tatum (Logan Lucky), which both received acclaim from critics and audiences and were major box office hits.
They returned to the animation genre by writing and directing the 2014 megahit The Lego Movie, whose success helped spawn a franchise that has included two spin-offs and a sequel, and after being replaced by Disney with Ron Howard on Solo: A Star Wars Story, would write and produce the Oscar-winning animated hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which also grossed over $375.5 million.
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While most multi-million dollar first-look deals of recent years have been for TV projects, Lord and Miller’s film deal has been the one exception as studios have been fighting heavy for a month to get the duo signed, with Universal coming out victorious.
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“Universal has a history of breaking new ground and championing unexpected voices, so for us it’s a very welcoming environment to make bold, original films that push the medium forward,” Lord and Miller said in a statement. “We also feel a deep obligation to leave something behind for future generations of studio executives to reboot. We’re very grateful to Donna, Peter and the entire Universal team for inviting us to partner with them in reaching that goal.”
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