Matt Weitzman, showrunner for American Dad, opens up about plans for a movie that were scrapped. American Dad was created by Seth MacFarlane, Weitzman and Mike Barker in 2005. The series has had a prolific run with over 300 episodes, even surviving cancelation at Fox only to continue at TBS. American Dad features the voice talent of Scott Grimes, Wendy Schaal, Dee Bradley Baker, Rachel MacFarlane, Patrick Stewart, and Seth MacFarlane.
American Dad follows Stan Smith, a staunchly conservative and patriotic CIA agent, as he balances his work and family. The series plays on similar family dynamics often seen in other animated shows, like Family Guy or The Simpsons, while offering its own unique take with characters like Roger, an alien that resides in the family's attic, and Klaus, a talking goldfish whose mind belongs to a former German Olympic ski-jumper. And while the series has thrived on TV, the creators had plans to expand American Dad into a movie.
According to Digital Spy, Weitzman confirmed that there were plans for an American Dad movie for a time. The showrunner also revealed that the plot would have seen the Smith family going to Roger's home planet. However, plans for the film were ultimately scrapped in favor of focusing their creative efforts on the American Dad season at hand. Check out Weitzman's comments below:
"We thought about a movie where we go back to Roger's planet, but I want to focus on making the season as good as possible."
While American Dad may not be getting a movie, it's also not the first animated series to make the jump to feature films (at least in the planning stage). The most recent example to hit theaters was The Bob's Burgers Movie, which was released in May. The Simpsons also got their own film in 2007, which expanded the family's half-hour antics to feature length. However, The Simpsons showrunner has previously stated that making the series and film simultaneously was draining for its writing team, which reinforces Weitzman's incentive to scrap the American Dad movie.
American Dad shows no signs of stopping, as Weitzman also mentioned a Halloween special, Christmas special, and a "metaverse" episode. Season 19 aired earlier this year, and American Dad season 20 and 21 have already been confirmed. Weitzman stated that he would be content if the series ended today, which may be an understandable sentiment after working on a series for almost 20 years. However, American Dad has stood the test of time, with a run that stands head and shoulders above many shows that are forgotten after a single season. So, while an American Dad movie may not be happening in the near future, plenty more episodes are on the way.
Source: Digital Spy