DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg announced today that the studio will produce a sequel to the hit CG-animated feature, Madagascar. Stars Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith have already agreed to return to the voice cast, and directors Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath will be back at the helm.
Speaking at the annual Merrill Lynch Media & Entertainment Conference in Pasadena, Katzenberg stated, "As a result of its tremendous box office success, the potential to tell a new chapter in its story and the popularity of the film’s characters, we are excited to announce that we are making Madagascar our second company franchise–along with Shrek. We will release a theatrical sequel in 2008."
Released over the summer, Madagascar has earned more than $500 million at the worldwide box office, making it DreamWorks Animation’s most successful original movie ever. Mireille Soria will again serve as producer on the sequel.
Madagascar’s devious penguins will also be back, this time starring in their own direct-to-video release due out in 2009. In addition, the flightless birds will be the stars of DreamWorks Animation’s first animated short. The yet-untitled ten-minute film will play in theatres this fall before screenings of Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which opens nationwide on Oct. 7.
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