While The Simpsons is widely regarded as one of the greatest outputs in cult entertainment ever, its movie counterpart left many on the fence.
While some Simpsons fans found the flick a little disappointing upon its release back in 2007, commercially it was deemed a success, having taken over $250 million at the box office. The reviewers were sold, too, with a current rating of 88 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Even Simpsons creator Matt Groening wasn't entirely sure how he felt.
"It took us four years [to make] and it killed us," Groening said at UCLA's annual entertainment symposium in 2013, where he was joined by long-time Simpsons producer-director David Silverman for a Q&A.
Silverman added that the movie 'stole animators from the show, and drained other resources, concluding that a potential follow-up would be 'maybe another 10-15 years'.
But it turns out that the sequel to the film could be closer than we thought, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that it's now 'in development', along with the already-announced 'epic [big screen] adventure' for Bob's Burgers and a Family Guy feature-length movie.
The newspaper reports that 20th Century Fox CEO Stacey Snider has been pushing for a 'revamp' of Fox's approach to animation, and will bring in a new partner to replace the expired deal with DreamWorks Animation after it was acquired by Comcast Corp.
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WSJ continued to say that, according to 'people with knowledge of the projects', the film studio would be partnering with the Fox television studio for the aforementioned projects - adding, interestingly, that the Family Guy film would mix 'animation with live action'.
Since premiering in 1989, The Simpsons has managed to achieve titles of both the longest-running American sitcom and the longest-running American animated program.
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However, earlier this year, it also became the longest-running US scripted TV series of all time. Try saying that after a few beers.
Speaking to USA Today, show creator Matt Groening said: "We certainly didn't expect to last this long. When we started, we didn't even know if the Fox network was going to last, much less our own show. Fox was an experiment, and they allowed us to do pretty much whatever we wanted.
"We always try to surprise ourselves and then hope we surprise the audience. After doing so many episodes, those surprises become harder to think up. I'm very proud of some of the places the show has gone in recent years."
Featured Image Credit: 20th Century FoxTopics: Entertainment News, Film, Simpsons, Entertainment, TV and Film, TV, Family Guy