The Simpsons Movie Sequel Would Be a Perfect Finale for the Show

The Simpsons are coming back with a brand new movie 20 years after the release of The Simpsons Movie, and it would be the perfect time for a grand finale for the franchise. The Simpsons has been on what can only be considered a legendary run as it is not only the longest running animated series in the Western world, but it is also one of the longest running television shows ever. It’s set to go on for even longer as thanks to a new four season renewal with Fox, The Simpsons is slated to make it all the way to Season 40.

The Simpsons Movie returning for a new sequel comes at a very interesting time for the franchise. Not only is it coming 20 years after that first one (something that the show itself has poked fun of in the past), but it’s also going to be the first time in a while that many fans of the show will actually be seeing the franchise release something new. It’s time to make use of this platform to send the franchise off into the sunset with an epic enough story that can feel like a finale for a 40 year old series.

The Simpsons Movie 2 Will Bring Back Lapsed Fans

Much like how The Simpsons Movie did before it in 2007, The Simpsons Movie 2 is going to bring a lot of older fans back into the fold. Despite new episodes of the series continuing to air through the years (with the latest season airing now), there are many who have stopped keeping up with it. Whether they have dropped off after the “Golden Era” of its first few seasons, dropped off around the 20s, or even the 30s, there is going to be a large contingent of fans who are going to be reuniting with The Simpsons through this movie.

That’s going to inevitably be a double edged sword. This will make for an unfair comparison for those fans who literally haven’t seen the show since the ’90s and will unfavorably compare it to the new movie regardless of quality. But at the same time, this new film offers a perfect opportunity to introduce those lapsed fans into the current vibe of the show. The Simpsons has evolved a great deal through the decades, and each set of seasons is marked by its own unique voice behind it all despite much of the creative team being retained across it.

The Simpsons is far more experimental these days as the latest seasons especially have seen episodes playing with the classic sitcom’s format to deliver some very unique stories. When The Simpsons first made a joke that they would have stories for years all the way back in Season 13’s “Gump Roast,” it turned out to be much more the case that they ever would have thought. There really have been a ton of stories released since then, and the franchise is now starting to experiment even more with these characters to continue to find new angles to explore them with.

With all of this experimentation potentially being brought to the new film, it’s going to show these older The Simpsons fans that the classic franchise really has evolved to better fit in the modern era unlike the way those fans have feared. Even with all of that said, there’s still a major aspect of the show’s production that simply can’t go on as forever as the Simpsons family themselves. The voice cast needs to have what they can feel is a proper finale before it gets too late.

The Simpsons Does Need to End…Somehow

The Simpsons is also special because while it has been running for such a long time, the main voice cast has been staying with it since the very beginning. It wasn’t until Season 36 that we got the first major shake up with Pamela Hayden (who voiced Milhouse and more) retired from the series, and it really emphasized that the rest of the main voice cast is likely not going to be far from from their own retirements from the series either. Tough as it might be to swallow, these actors can’t keep going on forever.

The Simpsons Movie 2 might not be the actual finale when it comes to timing, but the film will give this main voice cast a last hurrah of sorts in the kind of epic story that they deserve to go out on. The show itself has been running for such a long time that there’s no actual way to end it on as grand of terms. Those behind the scenes have hinted that the only way the show will end is just with another episode much like everything else rather than some grand finale, and it’s even taken a shot at that idea to ridicule what it would look like for a show like this one.

The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has also previously stated that one of the cast members dying would likely bring the show to its conclusion, and that’s a dark reality that fans are increasingly facing as the show gets closer to its Season 40 milestone. But before this can happen, The Simpsons Movie 2 can be a perfect way to feature the full voice cast at their currently strongest with a film that will mark the end of a era. Because even if The Simpsons goes on for 50 seasons and a thousand episodes, with a new voice cast in tow, this could be a perfect send off for the franchise’s original stars and staff.

It’s funny saying all of this now because The Simpsons Movie also felt like a potential finale in 2007. It brought back much of the early seasons’ creative staff for the new effort, and was a story that endangered the entire town of Springfield with the biggest scope seen to that point. Now we’re getting a new movie 20 years later that is somehow going to need to feel even bigger than the first. If it’s not going to have as big of a story, what will ultimately help it feel grand in scale is if it emotionally feels like a proper goodbye. A goodbye that would only work on the big screen.

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