When Will 'Pitch Perfect 3' Come Out?

It took four long years for our favorite Barden Bellas from Pitch Perfect to return to the big screen with Pitch Perfect 2, but on Friday, May 15, long-time fans were treated to a stellar reunion of the best pitches any a cappella enthusiast would have to offer. After speculation over whether or not the franchise would turn into a trilogy a la The Hangover (among other movies), Pitch Perfect 3 was seemingly confirmed by Universal's distribution chief, Nick Capou, who responded to questions on whether or not a third movie would be in the works by saying, "Yes, how's that for subtle?" Aca-awesome! Although there is no confirmed date for a third movie's release as of yet — or other such pertinent questions related to such things as whether or not all original cast members would return — I, and other staunch fans, would much prefer to not have to wait nearly half a decade to see our Bellas back in action.

So how long will it take for Pitch Perfect 3 to happen? Can we expect a third installment in a standard two years, or will we be subjected to several years of waiting and breaths being bated before the pitches are back? I've come up with a few theories on why we can expect a third a cappella encore in our future, with a little less wait.

Comedic Trilogy The Hangover Had A Wait Time Of Approximately Two Years

The crew from The Hangover trilogy may have not anticipated how wildly successful the original film would become — but it did! The original The Hangover was released June 5, 2009; The Hangover 2 was released May 26, 2011, and The Hangover 3 was released May 20, 2013. Moreover, stars like Bradley Cooper gleaned wild success following the original film — as is with several of the lead females in Pitch Perfect 2 — but that clearly didn't stop him from making time to fit two more Hangover movies into his busy schedule.

Some Super Hero Films Experience Long Wait Times

Case-in-point: Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire had only a two year wait period between Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. But then, Spider-Man 3 didn't come out until three years later and I'm like WTF is that extra year of wait about? Moreover, The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone was released July 13, 2012, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was subsequently released May 2, 2014. However, it was confirmed that The Amazing Spider-Man 3 was set to drop in 2017, with Andrew Garfield getting the boot *sniff sniff*.

However!

A lot of what is going down with The Amazing Spider-Man has to do with the movie changing hands from being an exclusively Sony-owned franchise to a team-up with Marvel. Plus, there's recasting and a bunch of other stuff that happens which I assume takes time. As for any other super hero movie that takes what seems like a decade to put out a new chapter, all these movies feature lots of explosions and fighting monsters/robots/robot-monsters, so I'm sure there's some added facets to the whole process. The Bellas don't seem to be poised to fight any giant robots or fly from buildings any time soon (which is perfect, because how would that make any sense?), so we should be good on that front.

Anna Kendrick Wasn't Originally Stoked For A Sequel

Anna Kendrick's first reaction to the idea of a sequel to Pitch Perfect wasn't "aca-mazing!" Although she loved doing the first movie, she was worried a sequel would come off like "sloppy seconds."

However! Kendrick's Tune Quickly Changed

Kendrick's tune quickly changed (pun very much intended) once she "found out [the sequel] was really going forward and it was going to be a real movie and everybody was coming back." Seeing as how successful Pitch Perfect 2 was, how could Kendrick possibly pass up the opportunity for a third installment? Furthermore, director/costar/awesome person Elisabath Banks stated that she would be up for signing on to Pitch Perfect 3 "If fans embrace [Pitch Perfect 2]." Clearly fans have, because...

The Sequel Crushed The Box Office During Its Opening Weekend

During its opening weekend, Pitch Perfect 2 crushed the box office by taking in $70.3 million and even beating out the highly anticipated Mad Max: Fury Road for the top spot. Clearly the film was positively received, and fans wants more, more, MORE.

My hypothesis and all signs point to Pitch Perfect 3 being in the works and ready to grace our respective theaters in as little as two years — hopefully less!

Images: Universal Pictures; Giphy (6)