Homer’s returning to the big screen, doughnut in hand. 20th Century Studios has officially announced a sequel to The Simpsons Movie!
The studio has announced that a follow-up film will be released in Australian cinemas on July 22 and U.S. cinemas on July 23, 2027. The reveal came with a cheeky poster —an eager hand snatching a pink-frosted doughnut—and the tagline: “Homer’s coming back for seconds.”
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the new film spins out of Matt Groening’s long-running series charting the misadventures of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. The 2007 movie set a high bar: Homer doomed Springfield’s water supply, the EPA slapped a dome over town, and he had to stumble his way to redemption. It also had Maggie saying “sequel?” during the end credits—a wink that’s finally paying off, nearly two decades later. That first film banked north of USD$536 million worldwide, so expectations aren’t exactly modest. It’s actually surprising it has taken this long for a second film.
A second Simpsons film has flirted with reality for years. James L. Brooks said back in 2014 that Fox had come knocking, but momentum fizzled—pandemic and all. By 2024, Al Jean was candid that there wasn’t a script or formal talks, adding that a theatrical return would depend on animation’s broader box-office health. Cue a bounce-back: Inside Out 2 roared to USD$1.6 billion and briefly took the all-time animation crown before Ne Zha 2 surged past it this year. If you’re 20th Century/Disney, that’s a green light blinking.
The show that refuses to age
The Simpsons remains the longest-running animated and scripted prime-time series in U.S. TV history—almost 800 episodes across 36 years and counting. The show first popped up as shorts in 1987, launched as a series in 1989, and has run 37 seasons with renewals already in place through season 40. There’s change in the mix, too: longtime cast member Pamela Hayden, voice of Milhouse, Jimbo, and Rod and Todd Flanders, retired last year. And in classic Springfield fashion, the season 36 premiere jokingly billed itself as the “finale” because Bart turned… 11. For one episode.
What lies ahead?
No story clues yet, but the big question is simple: how do you top “dome over Springfield”? Whether it’s global chaos, small-town calamity, or Homer vs. basic responsibility, the family’s cinematic round two is finally on the calendar. For now, file this under “about time”—and maybe keep a spare doughnut handy.
