Elizabeth Banks aca-departs the Pitch Perfect 3 director’s chair

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Sorry, PITCH PERFECT 3… But Elizabeth Banks won't be directing you anymore. After helming the second film and initially signing on for its follow-up, Banks has elected not to continue on in the director's chair for the third affair, leaving a bit of a vacancy at the moment for the project as to who'll be making it.

The split is happening as a result of Banks' jam-packed schedule, which has made it difficult for her to make the proper commitment to the third leg of the series. Let's not forget that she's in the middle of the POWER RANGERS reboot, plus she's attached to direct the CHARLIE'S ANGELS relaunch over at Sony and still has RED QUEEN on her agenda, too. Even with PITCH PERFECT 3 recently shuffled around on the release date calendar, this just wasn't meant to be. 

That doesn't mean Banks is departing the film entirely. After all, she has been involved since the very beginning as a producer and will remain in an executive producer role once again. She just won't be behind the camera, ushering PITCH PERFECT 3 across the finish line. I don't anticipate Universal having any difficulty finding a strong candidate to fill that post. The first two PITCH PERFECTs were bonafide hits for the studio, and anyone available should be licking their chops to get the third under their belt. I bet Universal will have someone in place in no time to keep this train a-rollin'.

Elizabeth Banks will be fine. PITCH PERFECT 3 is fine. Everything is fine.

PITCH PERFECT 3 is now scheduled for release on December 22, 2017 with Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow all set to return.