The first look at Disney’s animated feature Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again has been released. The image sees our protagonist Nick, in the familiar ambiance of the Museum of Natural History, standing in front of the skeleton of a huge dinosaur. He seems quite curiou,s just like his father. The feature is being made by Shawn Levy’s production company 21 Laps and is helmed by director Matt Danner, based partially on the famous children’s book by Milan Trenc which has been adapted by Ray DeLaurentis, and William Schifrin.
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again follows Nick Daley, who is reluctantly following in his father’s footsteps as a night watchman. However, when the maniacal ruler Kahmunrah escapes (again), it is up to Nick to save the museum once and for all. Speaking of the project in a previous interview, Levy revealed that the animated feature is its own thing, explaining, “Production and animation is a very different process. I am very actively in hands-on, producing that. I've seen two of the three acts in animation form. It is somehow its own thing, but very, very loyal to the legacy of those characters in that title. So happening, and will be on Disney+ next year in 2022.”
The animated feature was announced in 2019 after the Fox-Disney merger by Disney chief Robert Iger. The original Night at the Museum was made by Fox with Levy at the helm, who directed from a script by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon. The movie was led by Ben Stiller as museum guard Larry Daley, which then spun into its own franchise, with sequels Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian in 2009, and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb in 2014.
The animated feature’s voice cast includes Joshua Bassett as Nick Daley, Thomas Lennon as Teddy, Joseph Kamal as Kahmunrah, Steve Zahn as Jedediah, Jack Whitehall as Octavius, Kieran Sequoia as Sacagawea, Alice Isaaz as Joan of Arc, Zachary Levi as Larry, Gillian Jacobs as Erica, and Jamie Demetriou as Dr. McPhee, among others.
Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again will premiere on Disney+ on December 9. Check out our conversation with Levy and the film's synopsis below:
In “Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again,” Nick Daley is following in his father’s footsteps as night watchman at the American Museum of Natural History, so he knows what happens when the sun goes down. But when the maniacal ruler Kahmunrah escapes, it is up to Nick to save the museum once and for all.