EXCLUSIVE: 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' Films To Be Produced Out Of Order (Jeff Kinney Interview)

Last week, you may recall our colleague Big Screen Leaks confirming that development on a third animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid is already in development at Disney+. This, right as the the series’ second animated film Rodrick Rules made its debut on the streamer.

Today, we’re proud to say that we can add to that scoop with a bit of a scoop of our own.

Speaking with series creator, author, and (now) screenwriter Jeff Kinney last week during the new film’s official Press Day, our Editor-in-Chief Dempsey Pillot learned something about the future of the franchise that may or may not make fans happy.

After asking Kinney about the projected timeline of the next few films – and what he might try to do to combat his stars aging – Kinney said:

“We [do] have to replace the actors every so often. But that’s just the reality of it. We will be able to find actors who who can sound like the original actors. And they’ll bring their own flavor to it as well. But we’re very ambitious – ambitious to make as many of these films as we can! And they might be out a little bit out of order from the books, but we definitely are aspiring to make as many as we can until somebody says stop.”

So not only does it seem that Kinney and Disney have quite a bountiful road ahead, but fans can expect the order and continuity of the series to change slightly depending on what stories the two feel are the best to tell first.

While this is no different from what both live-action versions of the books did, the bottom line is that Kinney is determined to continue producing these films until he’s all out of material!

READ: ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules’ Review: A Slightly Better Sequel, But…

Now, in the rest of the interview, Kinney spoke about why he thinks the series works better in animation and what it was like to have the late Ed Asner lend his voice to the story.

You can check out the entire interview below!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, which hits Disney+ tomorrow, is directed by Luke Cormican (Teen Titans Go!) and written and produced by Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules features the voices of Brady Noon (The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers), Ethan William Childress (mixed-ish), Edward Asner (Up), Chris Diamantopoulos (Silicon Valley), Erica Cerra (Power Rangers), and Hunter Dillon (Deadpool 2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules features the original song, “Can You Smell Us Now,” written and produced by Jon Levine, with lyrics by Jeff Kinney, and performed by Jimmy Tatro.

The animated sequel is available to stream exclusively on Disney+ now!