Night at the Museum Reportedly Getting Animated Revival on Disney+

Disney+ is set to return to the world of Night at the Museum in a new animated movie, tentatively titled Night At The Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again. Kahmunrah, the principal antagonist in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, is the older brother of Ahkmenrah, who wants his younger brother’s magical tablet so that he can open the door to the Egyptian underworld, Duat. Originally portrayed by Hank Azaria, it is not yet clear whether the actor — who recently stepped away from playing Apu, a character of East Asian descent, on The Simpsons — will reprise the role or not, but the report indicates no actor is likely to be asked back for any role.

According to The Disney Insider, the series is in the process of casting now, with an eye toward beginning production in early November. In late 2019, when the first Disney+ projects were getting announced, a report emerged that the streamer was aiming to revive properties like Home Alone, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Night at the Museum.

The original Night at the Museum franchise was comprised of three films released between 2006 and 2014. All three films, based on the children’s book The Night at the Museum by Milan Trenc, were directed by Shawn Levy and written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon.

Levy’s new project, the Ryan Reynolds action-comedy Free Guy, just got a new trailer this week.

According to the Disney Insider report, Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again will center on the nervous and confidence-lacking Nick Daley, (the son of Ben Stiller’s character Larry Daley in the 20th Century Fox live-action trilogy), who is hesitant to follow in his father’s footsteps as the overnight security guard of a museum that comes to life at night.

In addition to Stiller, the franchise featured the late Robin Williams in the role of U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt, and Oscar winner Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart. The third film — Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb — was the final live-action performance by Williams, who died by suicide in late 2014.

Other characters from the live-action feature films who, according to the report, will return for the Disney+ movie include the cowboy Jedediah (originally played by Owen Wilson); the Roman Legionnaire, Octavius; Roosevelt, whom it says will become Nick’s champion; and famous Native American, and Sacagawea. The film will reportedly also cast for Joan of Arc, “who joins the group and helps build Nick’s confidence.”

Wilson is notable in that he has done animated voices for Disney in the past, appearing in the Cars franchise as main character Lightning McQueen. Even if they didn’t ask him to come back, it’s plausible they could use Keith Ferguson, the Gravity Falls actor who replaced Wilson as a not-quite-sound-alike Lightning in the Cars Toons shorts, for the part.

Are you excited to see more Night at the Museum? Who would you like to hear in the roles? Sound off in teh comments below and keep an eye on ComicBook.com for more as the series develops.