Reflecting on the studio’s upcoming slate, Pixar President Jim Morris revealed during the summer that the animation giant currently has plans in place for four original movies beyond 2019. Such a statement of intent was greeted with open arms, particularly after a string of sequels in the form of Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Monsters University and Finding Dory.
Each film earned respectable reviews, of course, and Toy Story 3 blew past all expectations to enter Hollywood’s billion dollar club, but there’s something to be said about Pixar’s originality – just look at Inside Out. Striking a balance between established properties and new IP is key, then, and according to director Pete Docter, a third installment in the Monsters, Inc. franchise could be in the cards.
When quizzed by Entertainment Weekly about the prospect of Monsters, Inc. 3, Docter replied as so:
You never say never — who knows what will happen? We purposely went with a prequel for Monsters University because we didn’t want to answer some of the questions about what happens to Boo, and how does she grow up, and things like that. It would have to be really compelling, which is hopefully the benchmark for all of our sequels, anyway.
Had things panned out differently for Monsters, Inc. early on, the heartfelt animation would have adopted a Peter Pan-like arc, which may be something that Pixar tap into for a future film. Said Docter:
Part of that idea was like a Peter Pan-type thing, where [Wendy] had been visited by Peter Pan as a kid and had sort of half-forgotten who he was.
Monsters, Inc. 3 is little more than a nascent pitch at the moment, but fans of the series can rest assured that Sully and Mike may not remain on the shelf in perpetuity. Elsewhere on the Pixar calendar, The Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4 recently swapped release dates, meaning the former sequel is now on course to arrive a little earlier than expected.