Warner Bros. is putting a LEGO Batman movie spinoff from this year's blockbuster The Lego Movie on the fast track for production, with the project taking precedence over The Lego Movie 2, which has been pushed back from its already announced May 26, 2017 release date.

Will Arnett is set to reprise his voice role as Batman from The Lego Movie, with director Chris McKay, who signed on to direct The Lego Movie 2 back in March, now set to direct this Batman spin-off. Author-screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith is providing the screenplay.

The studio is eyeing a 2017 release for this Batman spin-off, which may take The Lego Movie 2's now-vacated May 26, 2017 release date. Warner Bros. already set a September 23, 2016 release date for another spin-off, Ninjago. It isn't known when exactly The Lego Movie 2 will hit theaters, but it will presumably happen some time after 2017.

Roy Lee and Dan Lin are producing alongside The Lego Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Shortly after the announcement was made, Chris Miller confirmed the news though his Twitter page, with an image that re-creates the first photo of Ben Affleck as Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

It isn't known exactly when production may begin, or if any other voice cast members from The Lego Movie will return. Will Arnett's Batman was considered by many to be one of the highlights of The Lego Movie, stealing several scenes with his gravely imitation of Christian Bale's voice from The Dark Knight trilogy.

The Lego Batman franchise was already quite popular before The Lego Movie hit theaters in February. There have been three video games released featuring the character, who was headlined the straight-to-video animated movie LEGO Batman: The Movie - DC Superheroes Unite, where Troy Baker voiced The Dark Knight.