“Freedom ’90” by George Michael gets creative cover treatment in this trailer for Pitch Perfect 3.  A cappella songbirds the Bellas are back for one last competition on an overseas USO tour for Pitch Perfect 3. This time they’re up against arch-rivals that use instruments as well as vocals. Hailee Steinfeld, Anna Kendrick, Ruby Rose and Rebel Wilson reprise their roles, as does writer Kay Cannon. But there’s a new director the helm, Trish Sie, who has been handed the reins of a powerhouse franchise. Released by Universal Pictures in May 2015, Pitch Perfect 2 went on to gross more than $288 million worldwide, overtaking School of Rock’s $131.3 million to become the world’s top-earning musical comedy. In fact, the sequel outperformed the 2012 original’s entire worldwide gross of $115 million in just five days.

Pitch Perfect 3 hits U.S. theaters Dec. 22, with Christopher Lennertz composing. Lennertz had success last year with Bad Moms and Sausage Party. His 2017 projects include Smurfs: The Lost Village, Baywatch and the upcoming Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween. He also participated in the May documentary release A Symphony Of Hope, for which 25 composers came together to write a symphony for the people of Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.

Pitch Perfect 3‘s executive music producers are Alana Da Fonseca (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip), Julianne Jordan (The Bourne Identity), Harvey Mason Jr. (Sing) and Julia Michaels (The Devil Wears Prada). Actress Elizabeth Banks, who is one of the starts in the films, also serves as a producer.

Based on Mickey Rapkin’s non-fiction book Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory, the University of Oregon Divisi are the inspiration for the girl group known in the first and second films as the Barden Bellas, for their fictional college. The Divisi were one of several groups Rapkin followed for a season researching his book. Two members of the a cappella community, Deke Sharon, who founded the International Championship of College A Cappella, and Ed Boyer, were hired as arrangers, producers, vocalists music directors for the films, with part of their duties including a cappella boot camps for the actors. 

The films are distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Gold Circle Films.