With the iOS gaming community’s focus firmly on the ever-changing App Store, it wouldn’t be too wild an assumption to suggest that the Angry Birds (Free) vogue has died down significantly over recent years. With a wide variety of eclectic spin offs being soft launched on a regular basis, as well as the theater adaptation in the form of The Angry Birds Movie releasing to a tepid response from critics, the famous irritated flying animals that came to define the early years of the App Store may appear to have fallen from their perch. In reality, however, this is far from the case – The Angry Birds Movie was a commercial hit, making over $300 million at box office, and far exceeding its $73 million budget. Owing to the popularity of these animated avians, a sequel was announced late last year, and today Rovio have confirmed that it will hit movie theaters on September 20th, 2019.
While little in terms of plot, theme or setting has been announced beyond its position as a direct sequel, The Angry Birds Movie 2 features some famous names with an illustrious history in some of the most popular animated shows of recent years. Columbia Pictures and Rovio have confirmed that the film will be directed by Thurop Van Orman and John Rice (with the latter serving as co-director), who have worked on Adventure Time and Rick and Morty respectively. Whether these experiences suggest a new direction for the upcoming sequel is too early to be seen, and such a stunning box office performance suggests that Colombia won’t stray too far from the formula that was so successful in 2016. Either way, it’s impressive to see a franchise that began on the App Store blow up in popular culture, and on its tenth anniversary to boot – let us know what other iOS franchises you’d like to see grace the big screen in the comments below.
