DC League of Super-Pets co-writer and director Jared Stern teases story ideas for a potential sequel ahead of the film's release. The latest animated offering from DC Entertainment is directed by Stern from a script he co-wrote with John Whittington, the duo who collaborated previously on The Lego Batman Movie. Their new animated film follows Superman's super-powered pet, Krypto, who must assemble a team of shelter pets to save the Justice League after they are kidnapped by Lex Luthor and his evil hairless guinea pig, Lulu.
Dwayne Johnson leads the DC League of Super-Pets cast as Krypto the Superdog alongside Kevin Hart as Ace the Bat Hound, Vanessa Bayer as PB, Natasha Lyonne as Merton McSnurtle, Diego Luna as Chip, and Kate McKinnon as Lulu. The animated movie's all-star voice cast also includes John Krasinski as Superman, Keanu Reeves as Batman, Jameela Jamil as Wonder Woman, John Early as the Flash, Dascha Polanco as Green Lantern, and Marc Maron as Lex Luthor. DC League of Super-Pets has yet to premiere in theaters on July 29, but the film's director is already hoping for a possible sequel.
During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, the DC League of Super-Pets co-writer and director teased some story ideas for a potential sequel. Stern suggests there were some storylines cut from the film which could possibly be reworked into a sequel if they are lucky enough to have the opportunity to make one. Read his full comments below:
We never want to jinx it, but it's kind of hard not to, especially when you work on something for four years. And like I said, sometimes there was too much, so there's things that when we took it out, I was like, "But that will be good for a sequel if we ever were so lucky to have one." So yeah, there definitely is stuff and there's a ton of amazing, fun animal characters in the DC canon and we couldn't fit all of them into this movie. There's definitely a few that I know people love that are not in this one that I would love to have an appearance, again, if we're blessed to have another one.
Stern did not specify which animal characters didn't make it into DC League of Super-Pets, though there are a few who didn't appear to make the cut. The animated movie's cast list includes no mention of Supergirl or her pet feline, Streaky the Supercat. Other original members of DC Comics’ Legion of Super-Pets, on which League of Super-Pets is based, include Beppo the Super-Monkey and Comet the Super-Horse. If Stern's animated adaptation does receive a sequel, these characters should be at the top of the list of potential additions to the team.
Just like any theatrical release, the chances of DC League of Super-Pets receiving a sequel will hinge on its revenue generated at the box office. Animated movies tend to make more money at the box office given that they often appeal to younger and older audiences alike. This looks to be the case with Super-Pets, which is projected to gross anywhere from $40-60 million on its opening weekend. Reviews tend to have little effect on a film's box office prospects, though Super-Pets has received largely positive reviews from critics, currently sitting at 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. Only time will tell how DC League of Super-Pets fares with audiences later this week.
