Sony Pictures International Sets Sequels To German Box Office Hit ‘The Three Investigators – Legacy Of The Dragon’

Nancy Tartaglione
·3 min read

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures International Productions is ramping up two sequels to 2023 German box office hit The Three Investigators – Legacy of the Dragon (Die Drei ??? – Erbe des Drachen). Both adventure mysteries are co-productions from Wiedemann & Berg Film and Deutsche Columbia Pictures Filmproduktion in cooperation with Kosmos Verlag.

The sequels, The Three Investigators – Carpathian Dog and The Three Investigators – Isle of Death, will be shot back-to-back in the Canary Islands, with principal photography beginning in February. They are scheduled to reach cinemas on January 23, 2025 and January 22, 2026, respectively. Tim Dünschede, who helmed the first picture, will direct both films.

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Based on the bestselling children’s book series Die drei ???, published by Kosmos Verlag, The Three Investigators – Legacy of the Dragon centered around a famous trio of boy detectives in Transylvania who must unravel mysteries involving a long-missing boy, a mysterious brotherhood and a mysterious undead.

Returning cast members for the sequels are Julius Weckauf, Nevio Wendt and Levi Brandl.

The original made its theatrical debut on January 26 last year, opening to $3.2M from four markets, with Germany leading at $2.8M. The film held the No. 2 spot in Germany for three weeks and went on to gross $15.9M total, including $13M from Germany, to make it the second biggest local film of the year there.

The screenplay for Carpathian Dog is by Anil Kizilbuga with a story by Kizilbuga and Dünschede based on The Mystery of the Invisible Dog by M.V. Carey. Isle of Death is written by Anil Kizilbuga with a story by Kizilbuga, Dünschede & André Marx based on the novel The Three Investigators – Isle of Death by Marx.

The book series has sold over 25 million physical copies in Germany, and more than 50 million copies of the audiobooks.

Shebnem Askin, EVP, Creative Production & Head of Sony Pictures International Productions commented, “We’re thrilled to announce the next two installments of The Three Investigators alongside our wonderful collaborators at Wiedemann & Berg Film and look forward to producing these two entries back-to-back – a first in German filmmaking history! This is such a wonderful film franchise that is enjoyed by a wide age range of moviegoers who grew up reading the popular book series or were avid listeners of the audio drama.”

Max Wiedemann, Executive Producer & Managing Director, Wiedemann & Berg Film adds, “The Three Investigators and their exciting and complex adventures have been captivating and inspiring entire generations of children as well as adults for decades. What once enjoyed great success as a book and radio play has absolutely convinced the German audience on the big screen and became the No. 1 most viewed German movie in 2023 with 1.6 million admissions. We are looking forward to continuing this wonderful success with this incredible team and partners.”

Justyna Muesch, Executive Producer & Managing Director, Wiedemann & Berg Film, said, “We are excited to continue the success of the Three Investigators with our three talented young actors, the great director Tim Dünschede, our co-production partner Deutsche Columbia Pictures Filmproduktion and Sony Pictures International Productions. Carpathian Dog is one of most iconic and famous cases in the canon of the Three Investigators classics with more than 150M audio streams, and Isle of Death, the 100th case, is one of the most successful modern audio plays with over 280M audio streams. With both movies we will deliver the huge German fan base two long awaited cinematic adventures.”

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