Almost two decades. That's how long it's been since Homer dumped that silo into Lake Springfield and Spider-Pig became a household name, and now the sequel finally has a title: The New Simpsons Movie. Yes, that's actually what they're calling it. Not The Simpsons Movie 2. Not some pun involving Bart or donuts. Just... The New Simpsons Movie. According to Yahoo Entertainment, the film is headed to theaters, with multiple outlets including IMDb and The Direct pointing to a September 3, 2027 release date, so plan your Springfield homecoming accordingly.

I've had a soft spot for the first Simpsons Movie since 2007. It shouldn't have worked, a TV show cramming itself into feature length after so many years on the air, and yet it did. The animation looked gorgeous on the big screen, the jokes came fast, and it had just enough heart (that Homer-and-Bart on the motorcycle ending gets me every time) to earn the ticket price.

So why did a sequel take this long? I don't have a sourced answer for you, and I'd rather admit that than make something up. What I can say is that the wait outlasted multiple network eras, from Fox to Disney, and the movie just never materialized until now.

The title is doing something interesting, though, and I can't decide if it's lazy or brilliant. "The New" prefix feels very Springfield, very self-aware, like something you'd see on a marquee inside the show itself. Remember when Itchy & Scratchy added Poochie and billed it as an all-new direction? There's a little of that energy here. It also sidesteps the sequel-number problem entirely, which might be exactly why they went with it. The Simpsons has never taken sequel culture seriously, so of course its actual sequel has a title that sounds like a shrug.

Details on the plot are basically nonexistent right now, which at this stage is normal. No word on whether it'll stay hand-drawn or go the brighter digital route the show uses now, and no casting announcements. If it happens, you'd assume the regular voice cast returns, people like Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer. But that's my assumption, not a confirmed roster. You don't make a Simpsons movie without that crew.

What I keep chewing on is that early September date. It's the same corridor where studios have launched plenty of big animated hits after the summer crowds thin out, and putting Springfield there says someone thinks this is an event, not an afterthought. After years of animated sequels printing money, the family getting another shot at the big screen makes all the sense in the world.

If you'd asked me last week what my most-wanted sequel of all time was, I'd have said this one without even pausing to think, which tells you how much this news made my Monday. Nearly two decades of waiting, and the payoff is a title that sounds like it was written on a napkin five minutes before the announcement.

And honestly it works. A shrug of a title for the show that perfected the shrug. It's the most Simpsons move they could have made.