Better late than never... Right?
Not too long ago, the possibility of a sequel to the 2007 movie adaptation of the long-running animated TV sitcom The Simpsons seemed absolutely miniscule. While the classics series itself as continued to receive new seasons ever since 1989, its creators last explained in June of this year that they wouldn't want another film to interfere with its schedule.
Despite these concerns and defying all expectations, production and distribution company 20th Century Fox (acquired by Walt Disney Studios in 2019) confirmed with a post on their official Instagram channel on September 29, 2025, that a sequel to the 2007 film is in fact headed to cinemas in 2027.
A Decades-Spanning Success
After initially starting out as a series of animated sketches depiciting the yellow-colored members of the titular dysfunctional family in April 1987, The Simpsons spun off into its own TV series by December 1989, quickly rising to the status of a worldwide phenomenon and the template on which the now-prominent adult animated sitcom genre would eventually be based.
Aside from the billion-dollar merchandising industry which was able to draw from the popularity of creator Matt Groening's work, one of The Simpons' biggest successes was the 2007 feature-length The Simpsons Movie. Aside from widespread critical and commercial acclaim, it developed the main characters in a way that – in retrospect – made many fans wish it had served as the finale of the series to give it a satisfying conclusion.
In reality, the show would continue to receive hundreds of episodes afterwards, despite many fans lamenting their supposedly degrading quality to this day. Especially following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, it became clear that there was no interest in ceasing the series' production any time soon, with the new owners instead intending to capitalize on their purchase as soon as possible.
A Long Time Coming?
While first reports of a Simpsons Movie 2 being in development surfaced in April 2018 and creator Matt Groening expressed his belief that Disney would likely attempt to release such a film one day in July 2019, after the Covid-19 pandemic, it seemed as if its development had stalled, with no official or unofficial information on the project issued since.
When asked in June 2025, Groening commented that "the first movie killed us", highlighting the difficulties in managing both the show and a cinema release at the same time, implying that if a sequel ever were to happen, the team would either need to take a break from the series or the movie would have to be made by a different team entirely. Both options seemed neither likely nor desirable, which is why the above-mentioned September 2025 Instagram post was so surprising:
"Woohoo! The Simpsons are coming to theaters with an all-new movie on July 23, 2027!" – 20th Century Fox Official Instagram Account
Whether this new film will feature a completely original story or continue the plot of the 20-year-old predecessor, is still unknown as of yet. Notably, the release has been reported to have a replaced a Marvel project which was supposed to come out around the same time and has now seemingly been cancelled. Regardless, Simpsons fans seem to feel both slightly confused and optimistic about the announcement, still showing their love of the franchise:
"A new Simpsons movie announced? At this time of day, at this time of year, in this part of the internet, localized entirely on Instagram?" – user Ludviggur
But what do you think? Is there actually potential for this second movie to be as good as the first one? Or may this just be another attempt by Disney to capitalize on people's nostalgia without much effort put into the project? Let us know in the comments!