--- title: Elizabeth Banks Set to Direct 'Pitch Perfect 3' description: The news follows on the heels of Banks' 'Pitch Perfect 2' success, which was the best debut for a first-time film director canonical: https://time.com/4089509/pitch-perfect-3-elizabeth-banks/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-27T19:26:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:07:12.204Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Elizabeth Banks Set to Direct 'Pitch Perfect 3' og:description: The news follows on the heels of Banks' directorial 'Pitch Perfect 2' success og:url: https://time.com/4089509/pitch-perfect-3-elizabeth-banks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c595eacaa1e9824/6987efbaf887dc4cf4e8e78a/elizabeth-banks.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Elizabeth Banks og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Elizabeth Banks Set to Direct 'Pitch Perfect 3' twitter:description: The news follows on the heels of Banks' directorial 'Pitch Perfect 2' success twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c595eacaa1e9824/6987efbaf887dc4cf4e8e78a/elizabeth-banks.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Elizabeth Banks Set to Direct _Pitch Perfect 3_ by [Nina Terrero / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Nina Terrero / Entertainment Weekly Oct 27, 2015 7:26 PM UTC  Elizabeth Banks at the Pitch Perfect 2 world premiere in Los Angeles. Elizabeth Banks at the Pitch Perfect 2 world premiere in Los Angeles.Richard Shotwell—Invision/AP by [Nina Terrero / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Nina Terrero / Entertainment Weekly Oct 27, 2015 7:26 PM UTC How’s this for aca-awesome news? Elizabeth Banks is set to direct _Pitch Perfect 3_, EW has confirmed, a move that follows the impressive box office records the first-time director set with the release of [_Pitch Perfect 2_](http://www.ew.com/topic/pitch-perfect-2) earlier this year. Banks, 41, will be reunite with returning stars [Anna Kendrick](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/09/anna-kendrick-birthday), [Brittany Snow](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/28/brittany-snow-return-pitch-perfect-3), and [Rebel Wilson](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/04/13/pitch-perfect-3-rebel-wilson) in Universal’s third installment of its female-central musical comedy franchise. Screenwriter Kay Cannon (_Pitch Perfect_, _Pitch Perfect 2_) is also confirmed to return. [_Variety_](http://variety.com/2015/film/news/elizabeth-banks-pitch-perfect-3-exclusive-1201627660/)was first to report Banks’ return to the director’s chair. The actress-turned-director — who will next be seen in [_The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2_ ](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/10/01/ew-cover-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2)— made headlines this summer when _Pitch Perfect 2_ took in $285 million worldwide. Banks’ effort marked the best debut for a debut film director and became the [second highest grossing opening](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/20/elizabeth-banks-pitch-perfect-2-female-directors) for a female-directed film, right behind Sam Taylor-Johnson’s _Fifty Shades of Grey._ Though a third _Pitch Perfect_ film has been buzzed about since spring, Banks previously played coy on whether she would direct the franchise’s next installment. “I’m really focused on putting this movie out and then letting the audience tell us what to do next,” she told EW in May. Adapted from Mickey Rapkin’s book _Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glor_y, the first film in the series debuted in 2012 to a modest $113 million worldwide, but became a breakout hit due to its success on cable and DVD formats. A Universal Pictures and Gold Circle Entertainment production, _Pitch Perfect 3_ is scheduled for release on Aug. 4, 2017. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/10/27/elizabeth-banks-directing-pitch-perfect-3) _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4089509/pitch-perfect-3-elizabeth-banks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4089509/pitch-perfect-3-elizabeth-banks/"},"headline":"Elizabeth Banks Set to Direct Pitch Perfect 3","datePublished":"2015-10-27T19:26:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:07:12.204Z","description":"The news follows on the heels of Banks' 'Pitch Perfect 2' success, which was the best debut for a first-time film director","url":"https://time.com/4089509/pitch-perfect-3-elizabeth-banks/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c595eacaa1e9824/6987efbaf887dc4cf4e8e78a/elizabeth-banks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nina Terrero / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c595eacaa1e9824/6987efbaf887dc4cf4e8e78a/elizabeth-banks.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Elizabeth Banks","caption":"Elizabeth Banks","creditText":"Richard Shotwell—Invision/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4089509/pitch-perfect-3-elizabeth-banks/","name":"Elizabeth Banks Set to Direct Pitch Perfect 3"}}]}] ```