Lord, Miller back to write ‘Lego Movie 2’: Can they make it click?

After Phil Lord and Chris Miller wrote and directed the original “Lego Movie” to critical and popular acclaim, it initially appeared that the filmmaking duo would take a step back for the sequel, acting only as producers — but not so fast.

Word came over the weekend that Lord and Miller have signed on to write the script for “The Lego Movie 2,” providing a measure of continuity for the burgeoning Warner Bros. franchise and signaling to “Lego” fans that the sequel intends to serve up more of their signature meta-humor.

A director has yet to be named for “Lego 2,” but the news of Lord and Miller’s involvement at least raises the specter they could return to the directors’ chairs as well. The film is slated for release in 2018 and thus will follow the spinoffs “Ninjago” and “The Lego Batman Movie,” coming in 2016 and 2017. “Ninjago” will be directed by Charlie Bean, a TV animation veteran. Chris McKay, animation supervisor on “The Lego Movie,” will direct the Batman spinoff.

Regardless of whether Lord and Miller reprise directing duties as well, the big question raised by their involvement on “Lego 2” is whether they can pull a rabbit out of their hat once again. In the past, the two have demonstrated a particular talent for taking seemingly frivolous ideas and turning them into smart, self-reflexive hits.

With the first “Lego Movie,” Lord and Miller delivered a film that skewered the idea of crass commercial tie-ins while also serving as an unabashed example of one. The duo then sent up Hollywood’s obsession with sequels via “22 Jump Street,” a movie that goofed on the bigger-is-better approach to franchise building while simultaneously following the playbook to the letter.

In both those outings, Lord and Miller were able to transcend materialistic imperatives by making larger statements about the complex relationship between art and commerce. But in continuing to mine that dynamic, Lord and Miller may find it increasingly difficult to deliver the former while chasing the latter.

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