Detective Carl Returns

Detective Carl Returns is an upcoming 2023 American adult computer-cel animated action comedy film starring Jason Bateman as Carl Jenkins, and will be directed by Conrad Vernon while serving as the sequel to the 1990 film Detective Carl. The film will follow Carl and Josh after 33 years returning to solve another case stopping their planned retirement.

Development for the film started in 1992 but was cancelled and restarted after various script issues as well as creative differences between the studio and Ramis. By 2010, Ramis pitched a new script for the film but his death in 2014 put the film back in development hell until Bateman as well as Ryan Reynolds pitched a new script to MGM. With Orion being revived by MGM in 2014, it was announced that Orion would be back distributing the film as well as production eventually starting in 2019 and the film receiving more modern animation giving the characters a more glossy look.

It is scheduled to be released by United Artists Releasing in the United States on January 27, 2023 in Dolby Cinema and IMAX formats.

Plot
33 years after the events of the first film, Carl Jenkins who is now at the top of the police force must stop his plans for retirement early after a new threat comes to the city.

Cast

 * Jason Bateman as Detective Lieutenant Carl Jenkins, a high-rank middle-aged detective/cop who is a lieutenant of the police force and Josh Heiniken's best friend/partner.
 * Jim Carrey as Detective Lieutentant Josh Heinken, a high-rank middle-aged detective/cop who is a lieutenant of the police force and Carl Jenkins' best friend/partner.
 * Ving Rhames as Officer Barry Johnson, the Director-General of Police (DGP) and the chief of police.
 * Wesley Snipes as Caine Brown Jr, the leader of the drug cartel/street gang, The Silent Death, and son of deadly murderer/gang lord Caine Brown.
 * Johnny Depp as Corporal Grant Cross
 * Robin Wright as Mary Jenkins, a school teacher who is Carl Jenkins' wife.
 * Alex Wolff as Carl "CJ" Jenkins Jr., Carl Jenkins' and Mary Jenkins' son.
 * Lucas Till as Jeremy Heinken, Josh and Linda's son.
 * Meg Ryan as Linda Heinken, Josh's wife.
 * Bruce Dern as Walter Jenkins, Carl's father.
 * Michael Ealy as Stephen Till, the newest cop in the police force.
 * Ryan Reynolds as Austin Jenkins, a firefighter who is the estranged younger brother of Carl Jenkins.
 * Ice Cube
 * Craig Robinson
 * Patton Oswalt

Production
Discussion for a sequel to Detective Carl was made since 1991 and eventually were cancelled due to creative differences between Harold Ramis and Orion along with budget issues. By August 2010, Harold Ramis pitched a new script for the Detective Carl sequel. In However, in 2018, the project was revived after a revised version of Harold Ramis script by Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds was pitched to MGM with Bateman stating that "this was his passion project and I would wanna finish it"; Reynolds previously voiced Austin Jenkins in a brief minor role in the original film. The film eventually started production in 2019. By 2021, it was announced that Bateman, Carrey, Johnny Depp, Meg Ryan, and Reynolds were all announced to reprise their roles as well. Depp stated in an interview that it was a good reunion with Bateman and his other fellow cast members. By January 2022, it was announced that Ving Rhames would reprise his role as Barry Johnson while Wesley Snipes was cast in June 2022 as Caine Brown Jr and Alex Wolff and Lucas Till as Carl and Josh's respective sons. Additionally, Bateman and Carrey also reiterated that the film will be rated R like the first installment. MGM also stated that the film will be even more adult-oriented than the first film.

Animation
Like the first film, the film will be animated by Moving Picture Company with additional animation by Animal Logic and MGM Animation Canada. The film will be computer-animated with a cel-animated look.

Music
In 2021, it was announced that James Newton Howard will return to do the score for this film.

Release
Detective Carl Returns will be released on January 27, 2023. It'll be shown in Dolby Cinema, IMAX, 4DX, and ScreenX formats. Like the first film, Universal Pictures will distribute the film internationally. The film was approved for Chinese release as well with the first film having a re-release in China on December 9, 2022.

Marketing
MGM's official YT channel released a teaser trailer on August 3, 2022, and was released in front of Bullet Train in theaters. The trailer received universal praise for the trailer with commentators calling the animation "crisp, bright, and beautiful" while calling the return of the titicular Detective Carl and Josh "outstanding" with the trailer receiving 172.2 million views within 24 hours, the most for an R rated film. Additionally, character posters for Carl, Josh, Barry, Caine, and Grant were all released that same day as well.