It's been a rough few years for Pixar. The studio's movies were sent straight to Disney+ during the pandemic and a couple of box office flops have tarnished the brand to a point where they're now in the process of rebuilding their reputation.
In a new Bloomberg report, more is revealed about how the studio is finally pivoting away from streaming to focus its efforts on theatrical titles. However, we're still getting at least one more TV show: Dream Productions is "set in the Inside Out universe of Riley's dreams" and expected to premiere in 2025.
The hope is that Inside Out 2 will be a hit and it won't be the last sequel we see from Pixar in the coming years. According to the report, "every hit of yesterday is being considered for a reboot, with Finding Nemo and The Incredibles regarded as particularly strong candidates for new titles."
Pixar President Jim Morris chimed in to explain that they intend to make three movies every two years, "with every other title a sequel or spinoff and the rest standalone concepts or potential seeds for new franchise."
This confirms we're getting a greater level of output from a studio that previously released one movie a year at most.
Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter also shared some comments with the site, suggesting the Finding Nemo franchise will be among the first they revisit (no great surprise after that and Finding Dory made a combined $2 billion at the worldwide box office). The Incredibles is also on the table.
"Where else have we not gone in the ocean? The ocean’s a big place," he says. "I think there’s a lot of opportunity there. We’re kind of fishing around [Laughs]."
Before worrying too much about what this means for the Pixar brand, rest assured that studio executives are well aware of how this could be perceived. Pixar's Senior Vice President of Development, Lindsey Collins, admitted as much while recalling a conversation with her son.
"The other day, I was like, 'What if I told you we were making an Incredibles 3?' And he was like, 'Money grab.' And I was like 'F***,'" Collins said. "Sequels are a double-edged sword, because the audience can be brutal and so quick to judge. Unless they’re worthy."
Last summer, Disney CEO Bob Iger shared his thoughts on Pixar's recent struggles. "There were three Pixar releases in a row that went direct to streaming, in part because of — mostly because of COVID. And I think that may have created an expectation in the audience that they’re going to eventually be on streaming and probably quickly, and there wasn’t an urgency."
"And then I think there was some," the executive continued, "I think you’d have to agree that there were some creative misses, as well."
Stay tuned for more on Pixar's plans as we have it.