Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Everything is awesome for Rob Schrab, because he’s now part of the team behind The LEGO Movie 2. He’s taking over directing duties from Chris Miller and Peter Lord, who are still on board the sequel as writers and producers.
Just ignore the memory of how Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 wasn’t as good as the first movie when the duo decreased their involvement. This is a different animal, and Miller and Lord are partially responsible for the whole LEGO Movie franchise, including Ninjago and The LEGO Batman Movie. Also, Schrab is a more exciting choice than the pair who took over Cloudy.
Most of you may know Schrab lately as the director of multiple episodes of Community, and that’s maybe the most appealing part of his resume for a lot of fans of that show (it helps that Community has already given us Anthony and Joe Russo, the brothers behind Captain America: Winter Soldier). But he’s also done a lot of other TV work, including episodes of Parks and Recreation, Workaholics, The Mindy Project and The Sarah Silverman Program, which he co-created.
I’m one of the jerks who has never liked Community, but I still have tons of reasons to love Schrab. For one thing, he’s behind one of my favorite comic books of all time, “Scud: The Disposable Assassin,” and he co-wrote (with Community showrunner Dan Harmon) the highly underrated animated feature Monster House (add this to the reasons it deserves attention this year, with director Gil Keanan’s Poltergeist reboot hitting theaters soon). But how much of his writerly talents will be put to use with The LEGO Movie 2 (which last we heard will be set four years later) is undeterminable.
There are other past directorial projects of Schrab’s that are worth looking at for further proof of his compatibility with the LEGO Movie franchise:
His video for Death Cab for Cutie’s “Crooked Teeth”:
His 2002 short film Robot Bastard!:
His Emmy-winning opening number from the 2009 Academy Awards:
His 2002 Batman fan film made “as a joke”:
And this short starring Sarah Silverman and Seth Rogen isn’t as suitable for family entertainment (it’s called Cops, Cum, Dicks, and Flying, if that gives you any indication), but I have to include it because it involves the talents of Harris Wittels (RIP):
The LEGO Movie 2 is due in theaters in 2018.