Last year The Simpsons creator, Matt Groening, discussed the possibility of a second Simpsons movie. Groening mentioned that Disney, which now owns The Simpsons, would consider making another movie based on The Simpsons, if Disney felt it would be profitable.

Now according to Digital Spy The Simpsons Movie 2 is currently in development, but it is still in a very early stage of the creation process and will probably take a long time before completion. However an interview between Slash Film and The Simpsons producer Al Jean revealed some new information about the movie. Jean explained that the upcoming movie would not be a direct sequel to The Simpsons Movie, but a standalone film with a fresh story.

It’s pretty reasonable for the creators to not make a direct sequel, because a lot has changed for The Simpsons since the release of The Simpsons Movie back in 2007. Several of the shows prominent crew members and voice actresses have died in the past 13 years, including Marcia Wallace, who voiced Bart’s teacher Edna Krabappel, and Russi Taylor, who voiced children characters Martin Prince and Sherri and Terri. Furthermore, The Simpsons became the center of controversy after the release of the documentary The Problem with Apu, which lead to voice actor Hank Azaria’s decision to no longer voice Apu.