The Bad Guys 2
| The Bad Guys 2 | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Pierre Perifel |
| Based on | The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey |
| Produced by | Damon Ross |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | John Venzon |
| Music by | Daniel Pemberton |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Bad Guys 2 is an upcoming American animated heist comedy film loosely based on the children's book series The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to The Bad Guys (2022), it is directed by Pierre Perifel and co-directed by JP Sans. The film stars Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, and Alex Borstein, reprising their roles from the first film, with Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova, and Natasha Lyonne joining the cast. The film sees the Bad Guys come out of retirement and joining forces with an all-female criminal squad to perform one last heist.
Perifel stated that he would love to do a sequel to The Bad Guys in March 2022, before the release of the first film. Two years later, DreamWorks Animation announced a sequel, with Perifel and the voice cast returning, while Sans would serve as co-director. Lyonne joined the cast in July 2024, with the involvement of Brooks and Bakalova being announced in November. Daniel Pemberton will compose the score, returning from the previous film.
The Bad Guys 2 is scheduled to be released in the United States on August 1, 2025.[2]
Premise
The Bad Guys 2 follows the crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws who are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys. However, they're pulled out of retirement and forced to do "one last job" by an all-female squad of criminals.
Voice cast
- Sam Rockwell as Mr. Wolf, a wolf who is the leader of the Bad Guys
- Marc Maron as Mr. Snake, a snake who is Mr. Wolf's best friend and the second-in-command of the Bad Guys.
- Craig Robinson as Mr. Shark, a great white shark who is the Bad Guys' master of disguise
- Anthony Ramos as Mr. Piranha, a piranha who is the Bad Guys' muscle
- Awkwafina as Ms. Tarantula / "Webs", a tarantula who is the Bad Guys' hacker
- Danielle Brooks as Kitty Kat,[‡ 1] a snow leopard and leader of the Bad Girls
- Natasha Lyonne as Doom,[‡ 1] a raven, member of the Bad Girls, and Snake's love interest
- Maria Bakalova as Pigtail,[‡ 1] a wild boar and member of the Bad Girls
- Zazie Beetz as Governor Diane Foxington, a red fox, state governor, and Wolf's love interest[3] who formerly operated as the Crimson Paw
- Richard Ayoade as Professor Marmalade,[4] a villainous guinea pig who was previously defeated by the Bad Guys
- Lilly Singh as Tiffany Fluffit,[4] a human news reporter
- Alex Borstein as Misty Luggins,[‡ 1] the human chief of police who was promoted to police commissioner and still harbors distrust of the Bad Guys
- Katherine Ryan as Maureen, Diane's secretary[5]
In addition, Jorge R. Gutierrez was cast in an undisclosed voice cameo role.[‡ 2]
Production
Development
In March 2022, a month before The Bad Guys was released, director Pierre Perifel said that he would love to do a sequel.[6] On March 26, 2024, a sequel was confirmed by DreamWorks Animation, with Perifel returning to direct and JP Sans, who served as head of character animation on the previous film, co-directing. Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Alex Borstein, and Lilly Singh all reprise their roles from the previous film.[2] Daniel Pemberton also returns to compose the score.[7] On July 13, 2024, it was announced that Natasha Lyonne has been cast in the sequel.[‡ 3] Danielle Brooks and Maria Bakalova were announced to be cast in the sequel in November.[8]
Animation
On October 6, 2023, the then-unannounced film was revealed to be animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks. Imageworks would operate as a partner studio with DreamWorks utilizing a "mixed production model". Pre-production would be done in-house at DreamWorks along with approximately 50% of the asset build and one hour of production, while Imageworks will handle the other 50% of asset builds and 20 minutes of shot production.[9] All animation was finished by May 7, 2025.[‡ 4]
Marketing
The first trailer for the film, set to "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish, was released on November 21, 2024, and was later attached to the theatrical release of Wicked (2024).[10]
Release
The Bad Guys 2 is scheduled to be released on August 1, 2025.[2]
As part of a long-term deal with Netflix for Universal's animated films, the film will stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next 10, and returning to Peacock for the remaining four.[11][12][13]
Future
In June 2025, two months before the theatrical release of The Bad Guys 2, directors Perifel and Sans revealed in an interview with Collider that they were planning a third film.[14]
References
- ^ "The Bad Guys 2 (2025)". Irish Film Classification Office. June 3, 2025. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- ^ a b c d D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 26, 2024). "DreamWorks Animation Sets 'The Bad Guys 2' For Late Summer 2025". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ "The Bad Guys 2 filmmakers break down the first trailer introducing a new all-female gang: "We wanted to play with something else than the typical James Bond male villain"". GamesRadar+. November 21, 2024. Archived from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
- ^ a b Heath, Paul (November 22, 2024). "Back in badness – first trailer for 'The Bad Guys 2'". The Hollywood News. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
- ^ Mitchell, Harriet (June 25, 2025). "Taskmaster's Katherine Ryan announces new role that's "unlike anything" she's done before". Digital Spy. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
- ^ Percival, Tom (March 31, 2022). "The Bad Guys director would love to do a sequel". The Digital Flix. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ "Daniel Pemberton to Score DreamWorks Animation's 'The Bad Guys 2'". Film Music Reporter. March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
- ^ Tangcay, Jazz (November 21, 2024). "'The Bad Guys 2' Trailer: Natasha Lyonne Joins the Heist in DreamWorks Sequel". Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
- ^ Amidi, Amid (October 6, 2023). "Dreamworks Shifting Away From In-House Production In Los Angeles; Sony Imageworks Is A New Production Partner". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ Tangcay, Jazz (November 21, 2024). "'The Bad Guys 2' Trailer: Natasha Lyonne Joins the Heist in DreamWorks Sequel". Variety. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ Hayes, Dade (December 9, 2021). "NBCUniversal's New Theatrical Window Scheme To Bring Films To Peacock After As Few As 45 Days Of Release". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
- ^ Moon, Mariella (July 14, 2021). "Netflix extends exclusive rights to Universal's animated films in the US". Engadget. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ^ Hayes, Dade (October 29, 2024). "Netflix & Universal Renew Animation Licensing Deal, Adding Live-Action Titles In 2027; Peacock Pay-1 Intact". Deadline. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
- ^ Jones, Tamera; Weintraub, Steven (June 17, 2025). ""We're Not Very Subtle": 'The Bad Guys 2' Directors Reveal a Dig at Elon Musk and Admit They're Totally One-Upping Tom Cruise". Collider. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
Primary sources
In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):
- ^ a b c d The Bad Guys 2 Movie Site | This Summer | DreamWorks. Retrieved November 21, 2024 – via thebadguysmovie.com.
- ^ @mexopolis (November 21, 2024). "Congrats to all!!! I do a little cameo in the Lucha match..." (Tweet). Retrieved November 21, 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Richtman, Daniel. "The Hollywood Handle". X (a.k.a. Twitter). Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ @pierreperifel; (May 7, 2025). "This is it… Bad Guys 2 is a wrap! ✨We watched the final version of the movie on Monday and gave our final approval on the project. To say it looks, feels, plays and sounds beautiful is an understatement. It is a wonderful ride, an epic adventure, a thrilling succession of delicious jokes and kickass action, a ridiculously good looking flick that I hope will make some noise…. But for us, this last screening was 93 minutes of vivid memories spanning three and a half years of our lives unfolding in front of our eyes. Memories garnered alongside the best talents in the world, our friends and colleagues from DreamWorks, Universal, Sony Imageworks, our magnificent cast, our sound team at Warner Bros. and our music team led by Daniel Pemberton both at Abbey Road Studios and Air Studios Lyndhurst in London. To try and describe the feeling of gratitude we feel towards every single member of this Bad Guys' team is a lost cause. No words can really express the joy that it is to discover day after day these wonderful designs, animations, pictures, storyboards, final shots, simulations … and watch our ugly duckling of a movie turn into a beautiful swan in their expert hands. It is a truly precious gift that we will cherish forever. This movie is as heartwarming and head spinning as a toot in a spacesuit. And despite all the technical difficulties, the budget limitations, the maddening schedules and the sheer size of it all, everyone rolled up their sleeves and no one never ever fell short of greatness. From the bottom of our hearts, I want to thank everyone who contributed to making this possible. It's been a true honor working with you. You are and will forever be my Dream Team. ❤️✨🙏🏻 @dreamworks @universalpictures @badguysmovie @imageworksvfx @abbeyroadstudios @airstudioslyndhurst @jpsans @the_damonross #animation #film #badguys #movie #fun #wrapup #theend #gratitude #happy #thankyou #dreamteam #thebest". Retrieved May 15, 2025 – via Instagram.