Elizabeth Banks Taking Up Directorial Duties On Universal's 'Pitch Perfect 2'

The Hunger Games’ Elizabeth Banks is about to make her directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2, the sequel to Universal and Gold Circle’s hit 2012 musical comedy. Banks produced the original and took on a supporting role. She will return in those capacities, as well as directing the sequel, which is also expected to see the return of Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The original Pitch Perfect was a satirical teen comedy/musical, centered on Beca (Anna Kendrick) a freshman, who is forced to join a campus a cappella group, The Barden Bellas. Despite the group’s underdog status, a flood of under-qualified auditionees, and resistance from the Bellas’ Type A leader, Beca manages to take the team to finals and, of course, win the affections of the spiky-haired love interest in the process. The movie grossed more than $115 million worldwide on a $17 million budget (and cemented itself as the internal soundtrack of a generation of teenage girls). It also earned additional profits estimated at roughly $135 million in physical and digital home entertainment sales across North America to date, making it one of the top-performing DVD and VOD titles of 2013.