Lego 2 Movie Release Date 2018, Plot News: More Strong Female Characters

Expect to see more female characters in "Lego Movie 2" when it hits theaters in 2018 -- and not just female characters but strong female leads at that.

Although the screening of the movie still several years away (the sequel is still in its very early stages of planning), Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who wrote and directed, respectively, the first "Lego Movie," have confirmed the change, which they believe is very important.

Both film creators are interested in showing the movie's viewers (mostly female) that there are many role models to choose from, and that films like "Maleficent," and "Frozen," Disney's animated box-office winner, are not the only ones that can show strong females as an important part of the storyline.

The gender gap is one other issue that the addition of strong female characters hopes to address.

In 2012, Lego was criticized both in real life and online because of its allegedly sexist Lego Friends products which was developed with young girls as the market in mind. The Lego Friends products were pink-themed, and there were questions regarding the appropriateness of color stereotyping to show gender differences.

However, with this recent announcement about adding female characters to the movie's sequel, some lost ground may be recovered.

In an interview with the BBC, Miller has stated that, "There's been a real shortage of [female protagonists] in recent years and I think that the near future will be very different."

Whether this projection will turn out to be accurate or not will be largely determined by the turnout of moviegoers who may or may not support films with more lead female characters.

It will be remembered that in the first "Lego Movie," there was only one memorable female character, which was Wyldestyle, the freedom fighter.