WithThe Simpsonscontinuing its legendary television run with no signs of stopping anytime soon, could another feature film adaptation be in the works? Previously, the franchise debutedThe Simpsons Moviein theaters back in 2007, finally bringing the animated family to the big screen after many years of slow progress. Over the past 15 years, there have similarly been rumors reported at different points about a new movie potentially happening, but as of yet, no concrete plans to developThe Simpsons Movie 2have materialized.
Gearing up for the premiere of the show’s 34th season, series showrunner and executive producerAl Jeantouched on the potential movie sequel plans in a new interview withYahoo! Movies. Jean says that there had been some serious discussions about pursuing another film before the pandemic put those plans on the shelf indefinitely. At this point, he’s still hoping that another movie can get made one day, but at this time, they’re still trying to figure out whether it should be developed for a theatrical experience or if it should go straight to streaming on Disney+.
“I’d love to work on anotherSimpsonsmovie, and we’ve talked about it. I don’t know exactly what the animation feature world is at the moment. I know there are some movies that have done well, but is it streaming, is it theatrical? So I think that’s actually a question we would have to wrestle with before we even started working on a script, is what do we want to do, and right now, I’m really happy to work on these shorts.”
Last year, Jean similarly teased his interest in doing another feature film in a separate interview withNME. At that time, Jean pointed to the show’s continued high ratings as a deterrent for getting another movie off the ground, as keeping the show going on TV is how theSimpsonscreative team spends most of their time.
“We’re cursed by high ratings. We’re still on the air as a TV show and that takes up a lot of time. I worked on the [first] movie simultaneous to the show, and it nearly killed the animators. But we have an idea, it’s just that we’re waiting to see what the environment is. Do we want to do it as a streamer? In theaters? Animation has been the slowest to come back to theaters. But now that [ages] five and up are getting vaccinated [in America], the business might resume. We’re in a wait-and-see mode. But there’s definitely the germ of something there.”
Related:The Simpsons Movie: Should It Have Ended There?
The Simpsons Has Been Getting Short Films on Disney+
Meanwhile, there have been short films made forThe Simpsonsafter the series arrived at Disney+. This includes the Maggie-centric shortPlaydate with Destiny, theStar WarsparodyThe Force Awakens from Its Nap, the Marvel parodyThe Good, the Bart, and the Loki, the Disney+ anniversary specialPlusaversary, and the Billie Eilish crossover shortWhen Billie Met Lisa.
The newest short in the series also just debuted on Disney+. This one, featuring Lisa learning about the fun she could have as a villain with the help of some Disney villains, is dubbedWelcome to the Club. you may find the short along with previous seasons ofThe Simpsonsstreaming on Disney+.
