The Pixar sequel nobody wanted or asked for has another trailer. Judging by what we see in this latest preview, Cars 3 will involve sentient race car Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) driving very fast in a circular race against other talking cars. It seems as if he’ll have some new competition, too, from a black car with neon blue trim named Jackson Storm (voiced by Armie Hammer).
At some point, McQueen will apparently suffer a terrible crash and be forced to pick himself up again, discovering the ‘real’ meaning of racing along the way. I’m guessing all the sentient cars will be friends by the time the movie wraps up, too. My prediction: it’s basically going to be a Rocky sequel, but with talking cars instead of brain damaged boxers.
Maybe I’m being too harsh on Cars 3. Sure, Cars was greeted with a tepid critical response and Cars 2 remains the only Pixar film with a rotten rating on the Tomatometer, but this is still Pixar we’re talking about! Sure, their once cast-iron reputation has been very mildly tarnished by their increasing reliance on sequels (fun though Finding Dory was, it never felt essential), but maybe, just maybe, the combined forces of some of the greatest CG animators on the planet can make the second sequel to Cars (not including forgettable spinoff Planes) worth watching.
Then again, the more cynical side of me looks at the Cars merchandising phenomenon (as of 2011 it had grossed an astonishing $10 billion) and concludes that with that much potential money to be made, there was always going to be a Cars 3, whether Pixar wanted to make it or not.
Oh well, I’m sure kids will love it regardless.