Two decades after a beloved animated film surprised audiences in theaters, the franchise that has quietly chronicled American life for over thirty years is preparing to return to the big screen. At Disney's D23 convention, creator Matt Groening offered fans an unpolished but energetic first glimpse of 'The New Simpsons Movie,' set for release in September 2027. The moment raises a question that haunts all long-awaited sequels: can a story earn back the wonder of something that once caught us completely off guard?
First look at 'The New Simpsons Movie' teaser shows Homer chasing baseball
Homer chasing a record-breaking baseball at a Springfield Isotopes game
Why does a baseball-chasing scene feel like such a natural fit for a Simpsons movie?
Because it's absurd in exactly the right way. Homer chasing something he can't catch is the show's DNA. But a movie lets you stretch that moment into something bigger—more elaborate gags, more characters getting pulled into the chaos.
The teaser is unfinished animation. Isn't that risky to show?
Not really. Fans have been waiting twenty years. They don't need perfection; they need proof that something's actually happening. Raw animation says "this is real, this is coming."
You mentioned Jacques Brunswick—a deep-cut character. Why does that matter?
It signals that the filmmakers aren't just making a movie for casual viewers. They're rewarding the people who've paid attention for decades. That's how you build loyalty.
September 2027 is more than a year away. Why reveal anything now?
Because the marketing machine needs time to build. You show the teaser, you let people talk about it, you let anticipation grow. By next summer, when the real campaign hits, everyone's already thinking about it.
Do you think the movie will actually be good?
The original was genuinely funny. If they can capture even half of that energy and add something new, it'll work. The real risk isn't the quality—it's whether audiences still care about The Simpsons the way they did in 2007.
The Pulse
- A raw, unfinished teaser unveiled at D23 signals that the first Simpsons theatrical sequel in twenty years is no longer rumor — it is real and in motion.
- The footage crackles with layered slapstick and deep-cut character cameos, suggesting the filmmakers are swinging for the same comedic ambition that defined the 2007 original.
- The central plot remains deliberately obscured, with only a Homer-chasing-a-baseball sequence on display — a calculated tease designed to generate curiosity without revealing the larger story.
- A September 3, 2027 release date means the full promotional machinery — fast food tie-ins, merchandise, saturation marketing — is poised to begin its slow, inevitable roar.
- The film carries the weight of three decades of audience loyalty and twenty years of sequel anticipation, a burden that no teaser, however charming, can fully resolve.
Two decades after a beloved animated film surprised audiences in theaters, the franchise that has quietly chronicled American life for over thirty years is preparing to return to the big screen. At Disney's D23 convention, creator Matt Groening offered fans an unpolished but energetic first glimpse of 'The New Simpsons Movie,' set for release in September 2027. The moment raises a question that haunts all long-awaited sequels: can a story earn back the wonder of something that once caught us completely off guard?
Twenty years is a long time to wait for a sequel, and Disney has now confirmed the wait is nearly over. At last Friday's D23 convention, Matt Groening and members of the production team unveiled a teaser for 'The New Simpsons Movie' — raw, unpolished, but alive with the energy of something genuinely promising.
The footage centers on Homer at a Springfield Isotopes game, pursuing a record-breaking baseball through a cascade of elaborate, Looney Tunes-style gags. An organist chases the ball mid-performance. Jacques Brunswick, a character only devoted fans would place, gets unceremoniously shoved into a urinal trough. The humor is layered and confident, echoing the comedic architecture of the 2007 original.
What the teaser withholds is just as telling as what it shows. The larger story remains hidden — a deliberate choice that trusts three decades of audience goodwill to carry people toward theaters on September 3, 2027.
If history is any guide, the marketing campaign will be inescapable: fast food promotions, toy runs, the full apparatus of a major studio release. The machinery is beginning to turn. Whether the finished film can honor twenty years of anticipation is the question that no teaser, however energetic, can yet answer.
Twenty years is a long time to wait for a sequel, especially when the first one caught you by surprise in a Wyoming theater during a family road trip. But that's where we are now with "The New Simpsons Movie," and Disney just gave fans their first real glimpse of what's coming next summer.
At Disney's D23 convention last Friday, creator Matt Groening and members of the show's production team gathered to talk about the franchise's future. They fielded fan questions, discussed the upcoming season, and then unveiled something that had been kept under wraps: a teaser for the new film. It wasn't polished. The animation was still in its raw form, unfinished in places. But it was enough to show what the filmmakers are thinking.
The teaser centers on Homer at a Springfield Isotopes game, chasing after a baseball that's apparently broken some kind of record. It's a premise that, when you think about it, is surprisingly fresh for a show that's aired more than 800 episodes without ever really exploring that particular angle. The sequence is packed with the kind of elaborate, slapstick humor that defined the original 2007 film—the sort of thing you'd see in a classic Looney Tunes cartoon, with multiple gags layered on top of each other and character cameos woven throughout. There's an organist playing ballpark standards while trying to catch the ball herself. There's Jacques Brunswick, a deep-cut character that only true fans would recognize, getting shoved into a urinal trough. The jokes land, and they land hard.
What's notable is that this teaser doesn't really tell you what the movie is actually about. You get the baseball sequence, you get the energy, you get a sense of the comedic tone. But the larger story remains a mystery. That's probably intentional. Disney and the show's creators are clearly banking on the goodwill built up over three decades of television to carry audiences into theaters when the film arrives on September 3, 2027.
If the marketing campaign follows the template from 2007, it's going to be everywhere. Fast food tie-ins, toy promotions, the whole apparatus of a major studio release. For anyone who remembers the Burger King toy runs from the original film's release, get ready to do it all again. The machinery is about to start turning, and by next summer, you won't be able to escape it. The question now is whether the actual movie can live up to the two decades of anticipation.
Notable Quotes
The gags in there are great. I loved the organist playing ballpark standards as she tries to catch the ball and Jacques Brunswick getting shoved into the urinal trough.— Fox News correspondent reflecting on the teaser footage