Why The Time Is Actually Perfect For A Second Simpsons Movie

"The Simpsons" are going back to theaters! It's hard to believe that it's been almost 20 years since the most beloved animated family graced the big screen with what remains one of the funniest animated movies of the 2000s (even if there are some weird choices). The movie was more than just a long episode of the TV show, but a big-scale story with huge stakes and a plot just ludicrous enough to feel at home in Springfield.

Now, 20th Century Studios has announced that Homer and the rest of the family are returning for seconds in an all-new movie, to be released on July 23, 2027. By the time the movie comes out, it will be almost exactly 20 years (minus a couple of days) away from the 20th anniversary of the first movie, which was already released nearly 20 years after the start of the show in 1989.

We know nothing of the movie other than it's a sequel to "The Simpsons Movie" and the release date. It's unknown whether it will see the return of the writing staff that worked on the first film (virtually all the greatest writers from the earliest seasons of the show assembling Avengers-style to write the movie) or if the sequel will employ the new writing team that has made the recent seasons of the longest-running scripted primetime series in American history — seasons that are arguably very, very good.

Still, having "The Simpsons" back on the big screen is excellent news, especially given the state of animation today.

Simply put, as much as animation thrives and is constantly saving the box office, the Walt Disney Corporation has been struggling when it comes to the art form. It's been years since a Disney movie has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, let alone won it. Even Pixar movies, once sure-fire hits, are failing at the box office. What is the corporation to do but rely on the most constant, reliable, and long-lasting successful animated property they have at their disposal to save their box office? Despite what naysayers would have you believe, "The Simpsons" is not only still good, but it is also successful enough to still be renewed season after season.

The question is, what will be of the poor staff forced to make the movie, after the first one nearly killed the crew? There's also the matter of the voice cast, who are not getting any younger. Replacing one of the cast members on the TV show that arguably doesn't have as big a ratings track record as it used to is one thing, but to replace them on the big screen? That's trickier.

There's also the matter of box office and whether people will show up in hordes to pay to watch something they can watch for free on TV — a joke made by Homer in the opening scene of the first movie, which has only become timelier in the era of streaming and Disney conditioning audiences to wait for Disney+.

If there's one movie that can potentially change all that, a movie based on an iconic TV show that enough people around the world recognize to the point of driving en masse to theaters for, it's "The Simpsons."