It’s official! Elizabeth Banks will be returning to the Pitch Perfect franchise to both act in and direct the third installment, according to Variety. She also helmed the second film in the series which was just as much of a box office smash as the original and earned the actress-producer-director high praise among critics.
When the second sequel was first announced some months ago, Banks could not officially sign on as she was fielding other project offers at the time. She is currently attached to direct a Red Queen adaptation and Sony’s Charlie’s Angels reboot. She will also soon be appearing in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 which hits theaters on November 20.
No plot details have yet been announced for Pitch Perfect 3, although we do know that Kay Cannon will be rounding out the female creative team by returning to write the film’s script (she also wrote the first two). It would be a safe bet to say that the new plot will again be focusing on the cutthroat college acapella world. Also returning to the fold are actresses Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, and Hailee Steinfeld.
Universal has already set a release date for August 4, 2017. We will have more on Pitch Perfect 3 as news is released.