The 2022 animated family heist comedy THE BAD GUYS was a terrific movie adaptation of the long-running book series by Aaron Blabey. Audiences and critics alike loved the animation and the pitch-perfect take on the characters that made young readers fall in love with the books.
Now THE BAD GUYS 2 is on the way, with a summer 2025 release date on the calendar. We're still waiting for a trailer and proper set of first-look images, but in the meantime here's everything we know about THE BAD GUYS 2.
What's The Bad Guys 2 Release Date?
Dreamworks Animation and Universal Pictures will release THE BAD GUYS 2 in movie theaters on August 1, 2025.
Is There a Trailer for The Bad Guys 2?
Right now there is no trailer for THE BAD GUYS 2. The movie has been in production for a while, but no footage has been released to the public. (Don't confuse footage from the 2023 TV special "The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday" with new BAD GUYS 2 footage. There will be another TV special released in October 2024, called "The Bad Guys: Haunted Heist.")
Does the Original Cast of The Bad Guys Return for the Sequel?
Yes, the whole BAD GUYS voice cast will be back for THE BAD GUYS 2. (That cast did not take part in "A Very Bad Holiday.")
So Sam Rockwell returns as Mr. Wolf, Marc Maron is back as Mr. Snake, Zazie Beetz is Diane Foxington, Craig Robinson again voices Mr. Shark, and Awkwafina plays Ms. Tarantula once more.
Additionally, Anthony Ramos is Mr. Piranha, Richard Ayoade is Professor Marmalade, Alex Borstein voices Chief Luggins, and Lilly Singh plays Tiffany Fluffit.
Reportedly, Natasha Lyonne also has a role in the sequel, but that has not been confirmed.
What's the Plot of The Bad Guys 2?
We don't know too much about the plot of THE BAD GUYS 2 right now, but Dreamworks Animation has released a simple synopsis: "The Bad Guys are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys, when they are pulled out of retirement and forced to do ‘one last job’ by an all-female squad of criminals."
It seems like this is an original story rather than a strict adaptation of one of the many "Bad Guys" books. The book series goes pretty deep into crazy stories featuring aliens, other dimensions, and all sorts of sci-fi and horror elements — all aimed at young readers, of course, so they're not super-scary. But the first movie had a more down-to-Earth vibe while still being pretty kooky, so the sequel film could well go further in that direction.
THE BAD GUYS 2 opens on August 1, 2025.
All images courtesy of Dreamworks Animation and Universal Pictures.