Sing 2 Updates

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2021-07-30)

Last week a new teaser short was released for Sing 2. The film features Bono as Clay Calloway, a reclusive retired rock star. The new trailer doesn’t include any new footage of Bono speaking, but we do see his character, the lion, Clay Calloway in a few spots. You can watch it below. We’ve also been keeping tabs on a few other Sing 2 related bits which we share below.

On Sunday in a conversation with the Rockonteurs podcast, Adam Clayton spoke about upcoming projects that the band were working on. “We have been recording acoustic versions of some of our catalog in different keys and different tempos just as a challenge. We’ve a track in the next Sing 2 movie. There’s things bubbling along.” Although we know from the first trailer that “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is likely featured in the film sung by the characters, this is the first mention that there may be a full-on U2 track in the film as well. The first Sing film featured an original song by Stevie Wonder and Arianna Grande, co-written by frequent U2-collaborator Ryan Tedder, so it is quite possible that U2 has recorded something specifically for the film. Whether it’s something new or something re-imagined, we’re looking forward to more information.

If they follow the release schedule of the first soundtrack, the soundtrack should be out in early December ahead of the film, and the first song should be released to digital services in early November. (In 2016 the first song released was the Stevie Wonder / Arianna Grande song, a 15 second clip was released on September 9, 2016, with the full song being released on November 4, 2016 and a music video featuring the performers released the week of the film’s release in December.)

Multiple versions of the soundtrack for the first film in were released on CD in 2016. These releases included a standard edition featuring 16-tracks, a Target exclusive version with 18-tracks, and a deluxe edition with 23-tracks and a Target exclusive version with 25-tracks. A Japan exclusive version of the deluxe edition came with three additional tracks from the Japanese version of the film with Japanese artists for a total of 26-tracks. A vinyl version of the album was released later. We will be tracking any releases in our U2 discography when the soundtrack is announced.

A couple of Sing 2 related books have been announced. For those who are interested in collecting Clay Calloway appearances, or just looking for something to possibly hook the kids on Bono early. The two books are both written by David Lewman, and have been announced via Random House. The first available will be a Little Golden Book, The Big Time! Sing 2, which is listed with a November 9 release date. The illustrated book will be based on the film, and is part of the Little Golden Book series which has been around since 1942. This 24-page hardcover book will feature illustrations by Bryan Sims.

The second book announced arrives on December 28, and will feature a more thorough telling of the movie. Sing 2: The Junior Novelization is a softcover retelling of the movie and will feature 144 pages. The book will feature a full-colour insert with bonus movie content.

The Sing 2 film will be producing a number of toys, and with Bono’s character having a big part of the plot, expect to see at least a few toys featuring Clay Calloway. The toy license for Sing 2 sits with TOMY, a Japanese entertainment company, and they should be revealing the line up of toys planned in the Fall, with most items going on sale in November. The announcement of the license with TOMY included mention of plush figures, collectible plastic figures and a role-play game. The director of global toys for TOMY said, “Audiences everywhere have already fallen in love with the relatable characters of Sing, and we’re looking forward to bringing them to life and into playrooms, the Sing films are about overcoming obstacles and pursuing dreams, so we created a musically-infused toy line that will help inspire the next generation to shoot for the stars — no matter what challenges they may face along the way.” Expect to see a range of toys including play sets, plastic figurines, and more. Posh Paws has already been announced as one of the toy companies which will be making soft plush toys, both small and large, for the film.

The movie tie-ins are likely to extend much further than just the two toy companies mentioned above. The first Sing film had tie-ins in theatre (cup toppers, character glasses), cereal box activities, and Happy Meals toys at McDonalds.

The release date for films differ around the world. Sing 2 appears to be no different. Here’s a list of dates we are aware of to date:

  • December 8, 2021: The Netherlands
  • December 9, 2021: Hungary
  • December 19, 2021: Saudi Arabia
  • December 22, 2021: Canada, France, Sweden, USA
  • December 23, 2021: Brazil, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland, Slovakia
  • December 24, 2021: Lithuania
  • December 26, 2021: Australia, New Zealand
  • January 20, 2022: Argentina
  • January 21, 2022: Turkey
  • January 28, 2022: UK, Ireland

If your interest in the film is purely for the Bono appearance, we will warn you that Chayanne will voice the character in Spanish releases of the film. It is unknown who the voice actor is in the French version of the film but from the trailer it is not Bono. In other markets, such as The Netherlands, it appears the movie will be released in English with subtitles.

The film plans currently call for it to be exclusive in theatres for a number of weeks, and then it will likely stream on Netflix for a period of time, before a home video release.

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