Elizabeth Banks may be best known to audiences as Effie Trinket in THE HUNGER GAMES franchise aside from her numerous other movie roles, but she has also been a producer and director as well. Her first directorial effort was a segment in the maligned comedy anthology MOVIE 43, but Banks will make her feature debut with the sequel, PITCH PERFECT 2.
The original PITCH PERFECT was a sleeper hit starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson that popularized the a capella song “Cups” for which Kendrick made a music video. Banks served as producer on the musical film and had a small role in it as well. PITCH PERFECT has been a big hit on DVD and Blu-ray and now we have official confirmation on the follow-up film.
Banks, having worked with directors like Kevin Smith, Judd Apatow, and David Wain knows a little bit about comedy, so this should not be a huge leap for her. The question is how will the college-set film continue in a sequel? Most of the cast is now clearly out of the range to play college students, so will the film follow an all new roster of musical characters? Those details remain unknown.
PITCH PERFECT seemed like a formulaic comedy when the trailer first hit, but it was a surprisingly entertaining little movie. I hope this gets made and doesn’t end up like most generic sequels.