Elizabeth Banks, who produced and starred in the original 2012 comedy
with Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow and Rebel Wilson, is going to direct
the 2015 follow-up, she confirmed on Twitter.
“Acabelieve it,” the 39-year-old actress joked of the news on Monday.
“Pitch Perfect 2” will be Banks’ first time directing a feature film,
and she’s also on board to star in the project as well. According to
the Hollywood Reporter,
which first broke the news, Kendrick and Wilson are expected to return,
and the the first film’s screenwriter, Kay Cannon, is tackling the
sequel, too.
“Pitch Perfect,” adapted from Mickey Rapkin’s book, was a solid
success at the box office, earning $113 million worldwide on a $17
million budget. According to the chairman of studio Universal, Donna
Langley, the film – which follows a college student who finds herself
making the unlikely choice to join an a capella group – originated with
Banks.
“Elizabeth originated the idea for ‘Pitch Perfect’ and was
instrumental in making the first film such a huge success,” Langley told
THR. “She brings an enormous amount of energy and experience to
everything she works on and we’re thrilled that she is making her
feature directorial debut on ‘Pitch Perfect 2.’”
