The Spice Girls are reuniting for an upcoming animated movie from Paramount, with all five members – Scary, Baby, Sporty, Ginger and Posh – returning. The Spice Girls – real names Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham – took the world by storm in the 90s with their infectious pop hits and girl power message. Their most famous single, “Wannabe,” released in 1996 propelling the group to worldwide fame. However, Halliwell exited the group in mid-1998 and the remaining members officially went on an indefinite hiatus in late 2000.
As part of their worldwide domination in the 90s, the Spice Girls starred in the 1997 feature-length theatrical film Spice World that loosely followed their rise and lives as an international pop group – with some surrealist elements like aliens and meta narration. The movie has grossed a total of $151 million at the box office (including its original theatrical run and an anniversary re-release), but it seems it won’t be the only theatrical venture for the Spice Girls. Last year, four of the five original members – Brown, Bunton, Chisholm and Halliwell – reunited for a new tour and they’re expanding again to movies, with Beckham also involved.
THR is reporting that the Spice Girls animated movie is in early development at Paramount Animation, with all five members set to voice their characters. The group’s manager Simon Full is on board to produce, while Karen McCullah and Kiwi Smith (Legally Blonde) will write the script. According to Paramount Animation president Mireille Soria, the Spice Girls “had an idea that we’ve been developing. They are very involved.” The movie will reportedly include classic Spice Girls hits as well as new songs.
The Spice Girls movie is part of Paramount’s larger animation slate, which has two releases planned per year starting in 2020. However, the Spice Girls movie likely won’t arrive until 2021 at the earliest, as Paramount has The SpongeBob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge and an adaptation titled Rumble, based on the graphic novel Monster on a Hill, set for release in 2020.
It’s unclear if this project is the same as the Spice Girls animated superhero movie the group was shopping around last spring, though it seems likely given Soria’s comment about Paramount’s film being based on an idea the pop stars had. Tapping into the popularity of superheroes at the box office is no doubt a good idea considering the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, certain Worlds of DC films and Sony’s animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie. Plus, the realm of big screen superhero movies could use some of that girl power message inherent to the Spice Girls’ brand.
However, it remains to be seen if that is the plan for this Spice Girls movie, and what exactly an animated superhero Spice Girls movie would look like. Fans of the 90s pop group are no doubt excited by the prospect of all five Spice Girls reuniting on a project, especially given the promise of new music. They’ll just have to wait for more details about the Spice Girls movie, though they should arrive in the coming months and years as development continues.
