Surprise! The Lonely Island have revealed they’ve got a secret new project coming to Netflix, and it arrives at midnight. Beyond that, we’re mostly left to wonder and speculate as to what this might be. Luckily, we’re not going to have to wait all that long to find out. In any event, we’re getting some new content from some of the funniest people working in show business right now on the world’s largest streaming service. That, in itself, should be enough to get people excited. The question now becomes, what should we expect exactly?
First, here’s what we know for sure. The Lonely Island, which is comprised of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, made the announcement that they’ve got something dropping at the stroke of midnight on May 23 on Netflix, via their Twitter account. The announcement came with a very short teaser that reveals right next to no information, other than the fact that what we are getting is being billed as a “visual poem.” Anyone who is even vaguely familiar with the group’s work knows that could mean just about anything. So let’s speculate wildly, shall we?
The Lonely Island rose to fame during their Saturday Night Live days with musical numbers that were released as “Digital Shorts” on the show. Some of the most notable examples include I’m On a Boat, Jack Sparrow, D*** In a Box and Lazy Sunday. Billing something as a visual poem could easily, and surely will, include music. Perhaps we’re going to get something similar to these old SNL bits? That wouldn’t be at all surprising and could allow for some fun guest stars.
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But what if this turns out to be something a bit more ambitious? The trio has also produced movies in the past, such as the criminally underseen Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Unfortunately, despite being a hilarious triumph, the movie bombed at the box office. Netflix, on the other hand, doesn’t rely on box office in order to have something be successful. So maybe this is going to more closely resemble another Lonely Island movie? That would seem less likely as it undoubtedly would be far more difficult to hide the fact that these three were making a whole movie with no news making its way out into the world until now. Then again, stranger things have happened and Netflix does like to throw money around at potentially buzzy projects.
It’s also possible this could be a concert movie of some kind. The group is scheduled to kick off their first-ever live tour next month. That said, the first show isn’t scheduled until June 15 at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee. So it would seem like a slight to fans who paid to go see them if they just release a concert movie on Netflix ahead of the tour.
Fortunately, we won’t have to wait all that long to figure this out. It should be noted that it’s not totally clear in which time zone midnight relates to. If that’s East Coast time, that means those on the West Coast will be able to enjoy whatever this is at 9 p.m. If it’s West Coast time, eager fans on the East Coast will be up late. Keep an eye on those Netflix cues. For now, be sure to check out the brief teaser from The Lonely Island Twitter account below.
Midnight @netflixpic.twitter.com/GiaYeRN4am
— The Lonely Island (@thelonelyisland) May 22, 2019
