Following the enormous success of 2014’s The Lego Movie, German toy company Playmobil has commenced production on the $75 million movie titled Playmobil: Robbers, Thieves & Rebels slated for a 2018 release.

The film has been in development for the last 3 years by ON Animation Studios (The Little Prince), a French based film studio.

Much like The Lego Movie, Playmobil and ON Animation have plans to launch a full-fledged franchise following the inaugural installment.

While several international distributors have signed on to the project following a short story presentation in Toronto, U.S. company Cross Creek Pictures (Black Mass) has snatched up distribution rights for a domestic wide release.

Long time story artist Bob Persichetti, with animation credits that range from Disney’s Tarzan to Shrek 2, will nab his first director credit with his role on the Playmobil film. ON Animation has also booked him to pen the script following his writing on The Little Prince.

Playmobil is one of the biggest toy companies worldwide with more than 2.7 billion figurines sold over the last 40 years and has the chops to go up against the immense popularity of the Lego franchise.