Welcome back to the night shift.
A Night at the Museum reboot is in development at 20th Century Studios, Entertainment Weekly has learned. Original franchise director Shawn Levy is set to produce the film alongside his frequent collaborator Dan Levine, under their 21 Laps Entertainment banner. Emily Morris will produce for the studio.
Stuber and Die Hart writer Tripper Clancy has been tapped to pen the script, with a director not yet attached. Though specific plot details are being kept under wraps, the film is set to tell a fresh story with a new set of characters. Deadline first broke the news.
Kerry Brown/20th Century Fox
Sacajawea (Mizuo Peck), Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) and Atilla the Hun (Patrick Gallagher) in ‘Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb’
The franchise originally kicked off with 2006’s Night at the Museum, which starred Ben Stiller as a divorced father in desperate need of a new job when he accepts a position as a night guard at the Museum of Natural History. He soon discovers that an ancient curse causes the animals and exhibits to come to life at night, forcing him to step up and find some order in the chaos.
Stiller starred alongside Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Dick Van Dyke, and Rami Malek, with later films including such additions as Amy Adams, Bill Hader, and Rebel Wilson.
The comedy adventure spawned two sequels also helmed by Levy: 2009’s Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and 2014’s Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. A fourth entry came in the form of the animated feature, Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, directed by Matt Danner.
Doane Gregory/20th Century Fox
Bill Hader and Ben Stiller in ‘Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian’
Prior to helming his Night at the Museum trilogy, Levy was known for directing successful comedies including Big Fat Liar, Cheaper By the Dozen, and The Pink Panther. The success of the Stiller-fronted comedies (which grossed a collective $1.3 billion) propelled his career forward, but reflecting on the project in 2022, Levy said directing Night at the Museum was a “daunting opportunity” from the very start.
“It was asking me to build a world with visual effects and spectacle that was beyond anything I’d done,” he told SyFy. “But I finally got my head out of my ass for long enough to say, ‘Yes.’ It led to huge creative growth, it led to a chance to work with 30-some odd actors over the course of that franchise, who are both legendary and now many of whom are dear friends. But the success of those movies really changed my life because it penetrated the global culture in a way that I’ve never experienced before.”
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He added, “This franchise sits very close to my heart and always will.”
Levy has since found further success in partnering with Ryan Reynolds on films including Free Guy, The Adam Project, and last year’s blockbuster smash Deadpool & Wolverine.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
