Night at the Museum is likely ancient history, according to its director

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

All my NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM fans raise your hands! Okay so one…two…three…is that it? Hmm, I guess there aren't many comedy/history buffs among you.

Okay all joking aside, I don’t know many people outside the walls of an elementary school that are fans of the franchise. But should I? The movies aren’t exactly geared toward the mainstream, adult consumer audience, and even the kids weren’t that excited by the final one, as it was the lowest grossing of the three. Even director Shawn Levy anticipated the end, planned accordingly, and has walked away for good…kind of.

In an in-depth interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Levy was asked if SECRET OF THE TOMB was truly his last visit to the MUSEUM series:

That was a great run. The family film has shifted; I think we see that everywhere. Ben [Stiller] and I knew that the third movie would be about the characters saying goodbye and us also saying goodbye. And then when Robin [Williams] died, that sealed it. That was just a horrible many months.

However, if he is done-and-done with the series, it’s only with the main films as he sets his sights on the East, and possibly smaller-scale iterations:

But I'll enigmatically say that I don't believe that the extension of the NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM franchise is done. There's a Chinese NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM that I am executive producing, and there are other things we're talking about, offshoots of the film franchise.

I haven't seen the third MUSEUM movie, but what I gathered from a plot summary is that the movie ends with Ben Stiller's character handing over the reigns of the museum and all its responsibilties to someone else, effectively ending his watch (He swore an oath! Deserter!). If so, then, yeah, a fourth outing would seem redundant.

Levy also talked about a REAL STEEL sequel, and what kind of writer would I be if I didn’t mention exactly what Levy said? Not a very good one, that's for true. Alright, here's what Levy said:

There is no question I field more often. My entire relationship with Twitter is about nothing but people asking me about the REAL STEEL sequel. We are trying, we have been trying.

So there you have it. No more MUSEUM (maybe), and more REAL STEEL (maybe).  I agree with Levy that Williams being gone really puts the final stopper in the franchise. Even though he wasn’t the main star, there’s no doubt he was the main harbinger of light and humor in the series (or at least in the one I saw). I mean, the man was probably a better Teddy Roosevelt than Teddy Roosevelt ever was. I think a change needs to be made to Mount Rushmore.

Levy is a producer on the new show, STRANGER THINGS, which is now on Netflix for your streaming pleasure. Stream it this instant!