Pitch Perfect 3 Coming Next Summer, Sooner Than Expected

The next installment in the Pitch Perfect franchise got a new release date this week, and the good news is that it's going to hit theaters a couple of weeks earlier than was previously expected. The better news is that the gang from the franchise's first two films, both on-screen and off-, will be back for the third movie in the series.

Pitch Perfect 3 will be released on July 21, 2017, instead of August 4 as previously planned. That moves Pitch Perfect away from a busy weekend with some potential competitors, including Alien: Covenant, but it puts the music-themed film in direct competition with Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, which will feature One Direction's Harry Styles.

The third Pitch Perfect film will include the principal stars of the first two films, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow. It will be directed by Elizabeth Banks, who directed Pitch Perfect 2 and starred in the first film in the franchise. Kay Cannon, who wrote the first two screenplays, will return to write this one, as well.

There's no word yet on a plot for the third film, but chances are that it will involve an a cappella singing competition in which a group of plucky singers faces off against evil, scheming opponents.