After the success of Beowulf this past weekend, the digital 3D trend appears to be picking up steam. Final Destination 4 has just been announced, with Final Destination 2 director David R. Ellis being tapped to direct the next installment. The movie will be shot in 3D, which seems somewhat appropriate for a movie franchise that was built around the gimmick of killing characters in a million different ways. (In fact, it seems somewhat reminiscent of Friday the 13th Part 3 being released in 3D back in 1982.) Ellis is also the same man who brought us Snakes on a Plane, which of course begs the question, when will we see Snakes on a Plane 2 in 3D?

In a recent interview with Moviehole, Jeffrey Katzenberg also revealed that as of 2009, everything that Dreamworks produces will be primarily in 3D, starting with Monsters vs Aliens, and continuing with Shrek Goes Fourth. There was already a direct to DVD Shrek feature called Shrek 3D, originally produced for the Shrek 4D ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. Clearly this is territory that most upcoming animated films will be covering in the near future. Time will tell whether or not the technology proves to have any lasting appeal, but for now, it’s obviously captured the imagination of filmmakers as much as the moviegoers.

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