The Lonely Island has educated us on everything from the best gifts to give to your girlfriend to what makes Jack Sparrow so awesome to why "YOLO" should actually inspire fear in us all. Now the musical teachings of this comedy trio are about to get a lot more epic.
A Lonely Island movie is in the works over at Universal. The studio recently picked up a pitch from the group, which includes Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. To make this deal even sweeter, Judd Apatow has signed on to produce. So many funny minds in one movie. Will we be able to handle it?
The movie is still untitled and plot details haven't been revealed yet, but we do know that it will be "set in the world of music." We also know that Schaffer and Taccone will co-direct the movie. Schaffer previously directed "The Watch" in 2012, which also featured a cameo from all of The Lonely Island members, and "Hot Rod," which starred Samberg, in 2007. Taccone took the helm of the "Macgruber" movie back in 2010. Both Schaffer and Taccone have unsurprisingly directed episodes of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," for which Samberg is a star and producer.
This is just the latest step the comedy troupe has taken to expand its influence beyond digital shorts and albums. The Lonely Island also signed an "alternative" development deal with Fox to beef up the network's digital programming back in January. The multi-year deal will have the group focus on development and finding talent, but it could also see them write and act in their own projects. But could anything be as awesome as "Awesometown," the group's 2005 pilot for Fox that the network passed on?
The Lonely Island can pack so much smart comedy and tons of tunes that are impossible to get out of your head in just a three-minute digital short that we really do have great expectations for what the group will do with a feature-length film. It'll also be interesting to see The Lonely Island members perform together on such a large scale since Samberg usually takes the lead on screen in their digital shorts. The only thing we want to know now is how big of a part Justin Timberlake will have in the movie.
