My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games, or simply titled The Friendship Games by Daniel Ingram and William Anderson, is the upcoming third installment in the Equestria Girls spin-off film franchise, following My Little Pony Equestria Girls and My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks.

Development and production
A forest clearing, used both for the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic episode Bloom & Gloom and for this film, was previewed in a background image shown online by November 2014.

The third installment was first teased by Rainbow Rocks co-director, Ishi Rudell. Brony Donald "Dusty Katt" Rhoades tweeted wondering about Rudell's silence on Twitter, and Rudell announced that he was "too busy working on #3". On Twitter in late February 2015, Jayson Thiessen was asked, "Is the Friendship Games movie actually going to be about the Friendship Games?", and joked in reply, "it's actually an extensive lecture on quantum physics and M theory... For kids."

On January 29, 2015, Australian home media distributor Beyond Home Entertainment stated via Facebook that they had obtained distribution rights for seasons 4 and 5 of the show, in addition to Rainbow Rocks and the "third Equestria Girls [movie]". Further confirmation was given during Hasbro's investor presentation at the 2015 New York Toy Fair.

Plot
"competition is fierce as THE FRIENDSHIP GAMES bring CANTERLOT HIGH and its rival school CRYSTAL PREP together in a series of school spirit, academic and sporting events to determine which school is number one! Mayhem also ensues as CRYSTAL PREP introduces their secret weapon – the actual TWILIGHT SPARKLE of the human world!"

Cast

 * Tara Strong: Human Twilight Sparkle
 * Ashleigh Ball: Rainbow Dash and Applejack
 * Andrea Libman: Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie
 * Tabitha St. Germain: Rarity and Vice Principal Luna
 * Rebecca Shoichet: Sunset Shimmer
 * Nicole Oliver: Principal Celestia


 * Shannon Chan-Kent: Pinkie Pie's singing voice
 * Kazumi Evans: Rarity's singing voice

Previews
On July 1, 2015, USA Today published an article about the film which included the first 90-second preview.

Television
The film will make its debut on Discovery Family on September 26, 2015.

Animated shorts
Similar to the release of Rainbow Rocks, a series of animated shorts based on Friendship Games is slated to release prior to the film's premiere.

Book
A book adaptation by Perdita Finn, titled My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: The Friendship Games, has been displayed at the 2015 New York Toy Fair and is set for an October 6, 2015.

Soundtrack
On June 12, 2015, Daniel Ingram teased the film's soundtrack via his Twitter page.

Toys
On January 20, 2015, at London's 2015 Toy Fair, some merchandise was unveiled labeled My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games. According to a visitor at the 2015 London Toy Fair, the film will see the Wondercolts face off against the Shadow Colts [sic] in all kinds of sporting events. Some vectors for the merchandise include Applejack and Fluttershy in archery outfits, Twilight Sparkle's human world counterpart, and new character Sour Sweet. Toys have also appeared on Amazon with the character names of Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, and Sunny Flare.

Wondercolts and Shadowbolts dolls were released in June 2015 in two varieties: "School Spirit" classic and "Sporty Style" deluxe. In the Sporty Style assortment, the Wondercolts' Fluttershy and Applejack and the Shadowbolts' Sour Sweet and Twilight Sparkle come with archery-themed accessories. The Wondercolts' Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer and the Shadowbolts' Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat come with motorcycles. The Wondercolts' Pinkie Pie and Rarity and the Shadowbolts' Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare come with roller skates.

Quotes

 * Twilight Sparkle: Hi. I'm Twilight.
 * Pinkie Pie: I know. You look just like my friend. Her name is Twilight too.


 * Rainbow Dash: Anybody have any guesses on what the events are gonna be?
 * Pinkie Pie: Pie eating? Cake eating? [gasps] Pie-cake eating!