WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Brian Henson’s The Happytime Murders, in theaters now.
The Happytime Murders ends with closure for its protagonist, disgraced ex-cop turned down-and-out private detective Phil Phillips, who clears his name and regains his reputation after helping to solve the killings of the cast of Happytime Gang, a beloved 1980s children's television show.
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However, as happy at it is, the ending does open the door to a larger world that includes not only a potential sequel but an entire puppet cinematic universe.
Puppet Cops ... Everywhere!
With Phil getting his badge back, and working alongside Connie (Melissa McCarthy) yet again, puppets have someone to look up to. They're second-class citizens in The Happytime Murders, but Phil saving the day proved they can overcome the stereotypes and the hatred. After all, puppets were once considered equals, although the film never actually addresses when, and why, that changed.
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That said, the next logical step is having more puppets on the Los Angeles Police Department. Phil is a shining example of what puppets can do. While the FBI was bumbling around, and considered Phil as a suspect, he figured out the case. That's something Agent Campbell (Joel McHale) hates, so why not give him another reason to be annoyed by having puppets as feds, too? The FBI is admittedly looking into such an integration project, which could result in something akin to The Muppets meets 21 Jump Street.
Private Puppet Investigators
With Phil returning to the LAPD after 15 years, there will presumably be a need for other puppet private investigators to take his place. Throughout the movie, he maintains that private detectives break rules and go places that cops can't, so there's already a premise in place for another film.
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If STX Films somehow throws a curve ball and has Phil turn down the badge for a sequel, we might even get a full-blown detective agency headed by him, and willing to dig up dirt in the City of Angels. It'd be a perfect fit for Phil, as he'd get to continue working with his secretary Bubbles (Maya Rudolph), who actually helped to clear his name, and became his new girlfriend in the process.
More Tales of Revenge
It turns out Phil's ex, Jenny (Elizabeth Banks), was helping the true culprit, her wife Sandra (Dorien Davies), to plot revenge against Phil after he accidentally killed Sandra's father 15 years ago. Sandra was gunned down in the end, but Jenny was carted off to jail, so there's no reason she can't return to avenge her wife and resume her vendetta against Phil. She's so sneaky, she might also be able to pull it off behind bars.
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We also don't know whether Sandra has other family who can take up her quest for vengeance, not only against Phil but the entire LAPD, and maybe the FBI. The Happytime Murders didn't establish whether she had siblings, so that plot could carry on in sequels, a la the Scream franchise, keeping us guessing as to who's the new killer.
In theaters now, director Brian Henson’s The Happytime Murders stars Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale and Elizabeth Banks.