Pixar may have just broken records with a sequel film, Finding Dory, but the studio is working to avoid the sequel train after its current slate including Toy Story 4, Cars 3, and The Incredibles 2.
“A sequel in some regards is even harder [than the original] because you’ve got this defined world which, on the one hand, is a leg up, and on the other hand has expectations that you can’t disappoint on,” said Pixar president Jim Morris in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
He also cited that Pixar– with very few exceptions– tries to stay loyal to the directors who originally crafted the world for them, many of whom have other projects they’d like to work on before returning for a sequel that takes somewhere between 3 and 5 years to produce.
Giving specific examples, Jim Morris said named three films that weren’t being discussed for sequels despite major popularity.
“Pete Docter [who directed Inside Out] has an original idea for his next film. Brad Bird, being the director of Ratatouille, is working on The Incredibles and we haven’t really spoken about [a sequel to] that. And WALL-E is close to my heart since I produced it. It would be good to back and visit that world and let everybody know that the humans actually survived again after getting back to their burnt-out planet. But that was really a love story that had its beginning, middle, and end, so we’re not really planning any further stories in those worlds at this point.”
Recent years have seen quite a bit of sequel backlash from the general public with a few notable exceptions like Finding Dory and Marvel’s superhero franchise, so this step may be a smart one in the long run. Let’s hope the studio keeps pioneering successfully!
