Night at the Museum (franchise)

When Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), a divorced father who was having trouble finding a job, applies for a job at the American Museum of Natural History, he is assigned as a night guard. However, a seemingly easy job turns out to be a wild ride when he finds that an ancient spell has caused the "inhabitants" of the museum to come to life.

Three years after the previous film, several of the exhibits are transferred to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, and Dexter the monkey steals the tablet of Ahkmenrah, Larry must break in and team up with his old friends, and new ally Amelia Earheart to get it back from Ahkmenrah's resurrected evil older brother Kahmunrah before morning.

Five years after the previous film, Larry discovers that the tablet of Ahkmenrah's magic is failing. So he, his now-teenage son Nick, along with Teddy Roosevelt, Sacagewea, Jedediah, Octavius, Dexter, Attila the Hun, and a new caveman figure named Laaa (who looks like Larry) travel to a fictional version of the British Museum in London to undo the curse with the help of Ahkmenrah's parents, and the narcissistic Sir Lancelot of Camelot before the tablet's magic disappears forever.

In August 2019, following the purchase of 21st Century Fox and its assets by Disney, The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger announced that a reboot of Night at the Museum is in development. The project will release as a Disney+ exclusive film, as a co-production between Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and 20th Century Studios.[1][2]

In October 2020, the film was officially titled Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again. The project will be CGI-animated and is scheduled to be released in 2021.[3] The plot centers around Larry's son, Nick, who is hesitant to follow on his father's footsteps as nightwatchman.[3] In addition to Nick and the titular villain, the movie will also feature returning characters: Jedediah, Octavius, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (a new actor in place of Robin Williams); with the addition of Joan of Arc as well. Production began on November 2, 2020.[3] Shawn Levy and Chris Columbus will serve as executive producers.

On April 2, 2020, composer Alan Menken revealed that he is working in a stage musical adaptation of Night at the Museum.[4] On September 11, 2020, Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy revealed that he is also working on the musical, which has been in development for "a year and a half" by that point.[5] Work on the musical had to be done remotely through Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

In August 2018, CEO of 20th Century Fox Stacey Snider announced that a television series based on Night at the Museum was in development.[6] Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, many of Fox's projects were shelved.

In October 2020, The DisInsider reported that a fourth live-action theatrical film is in the early stages of development.[3]

All three films have received mixed reviews from critics.