Universal's Dark Universe franchise may have instantly kicked the bucket upon the release of THE MUMMY, but the classic creatures of the night will continue in Sony Pictures Animation's HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA franchise. We've followed the adventures of Dracula (Adam Sandler), Frankenstein (Kevin James), Wayne the Werewolf (Steve Buscemi), Murray the Mummy (Keegan-Michael Key), and the Invisible Man (David Spade) over the course of three films (not to mention several shorts and an animated TV series), and it appears as though the gang will be back for more.
Sony Pictures Animation are now developing HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 4 and the film has already been given the release date of December 22, 2021. No word on whether Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack), who directed the previous three films, will be back to direct this one as well. Tartakovsky initially didn't want to return for the third film as his experience on the second wasn't the best as it took place during the Sony e-mail hack. "Meanwhile, we’re trying to get this movie done, and so it was a very tumultuous end, and everybody got fired and replaced," Tartakovsky told Collider during the HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 press-tour. "Right. Almost at the very end, so Tom Rothman came in, Kristine Belson came in, and so all of a sudden everybody that you were making the movie with is gone, and now there’s all these new people, and the movie’s successful, thank god, and then now what. It was a tough experience making it, and so I was like, “Well, I’m just out. This will be easy. I wouldn’t do this under these conditions again." HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: SUMMER VACATION was actually the highest grossing film of the franchise so far, taking in $527 worldwide, making it Sony Picture Animation's biggest success of the year, well ahead of SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. Not hard to see why a fourth installment is in the works.
Once again, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA is set for a December 22, 2021 release.