EXCLUSIVE: Inner Child, an elevated Lego comedy from James Morosini, is in early development at Universal and The Lego Group, sources tell Deadline.
Reps for Lego and Universal declined to comment. But sources close to the project said The Lego Group will produce the project. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
The origin story here is interesting, in that the project originated as an original spec from Morosini that had nothing to do with the Lego universe. It was originally a bit of an edgier concept, written for live-action. But since falling for the script and snapping it up, execs at Universal and The Lego Group have elected to take the material in a direction, visually and otherwise, befitting the Lego brand.
First introduced in Denmark in 1932, The Lego brand has continued to engage audiences around the world with the company’s expansion into feature films more than a decade ago. Universal closed a five-year exclusive deal with the LEGO Group for the development, production and theatrical distribution of films in 2020, in a move that’s been highly lucrative, with films made so far grossing more than $1 billion in total worldwide.
Lego’s films have evolved significantly in terms of creative direction since the franchise’s inception, reflecting the brand’s journey from a simple toy to an entity with significantly more cultural cachet for a broad audience. The first major foray into Lego-themed media began with the direct-to-video release of Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers in 2010, which set the stage for more ambitious projects. The turning point came in 2014 with The Lego Movie, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, which was a critical and commercial success, spawning a franchise that included sequels and spin-offs such as The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie.
Universal and The Lego Group most recently teamed on Piece by Piece, Morgan Neville’s film telling Pharrell Williams’ life story with Legos, which was released under Universal’s specialty label Focus Features. Last year, we were first to report on a trio of new live-action Lego movies in the works from Jake Kasdan, Patty Jenkins and Joe Cornish. Additionally, we reported exclusively on a live-action Lego Ninjago movie in the works from Kevin and Dan Hageman, the creatives behind the long-running animated series Ninjago.
Actor-filmmaker Morosini broke out in 2022 as the writer, director and star of I Love My Dad, a catfishing-themed comedy based on a true story, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in its SXSW premiere before going on to distribution through Magnolia Pictures. The project led to studio attention for Morosini, who was most recently enlisted to direct a forthcoming adaptation of his Black List horror script Mommy’s Home for Lionsgate, as we told you first last summer.
As an actor, Morosini is also known for turns in Netflix’s horror thriller It’s What’s Inside, The Sex Lives of College Girls, American Horror Story, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and more. He is represented by Anonymous Content, CAA, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
