Big Hero 6 was released in 2014 to positive reviews and over $650 million at the worldwide box office. The Disney Animation movie, which was based loosely on a Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, even won the "Best Animated Feature" Oscar the following year.
Despite that, we still haven't seen these characters return to theaters.
We have, however, had not one but two sequels. The first was a Disney XD/Disney Channel TV series also titled Big Hero 6 which picked up immediately after the events of the movie. It ran for 56 episodes between 2017 and 2021.
Then, Disney+ released Baymax!, a six-part series following the title character as he helps the people of San Fransokyo. Unlike its predecessor, this was the first small screen project produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Talking to Screen Rant, Big Hero 6 producer Roy Conli shared some insights into why another movie hasn't happened...yet.
"You know, we’re celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Big Hero 6 this year," he started. "It’s interesting because it is really up to [co-director] Don [Hall] whether he wants to make a sequel to that. It was Don’s concept and idea."
"I always secretly urge him to do it, but we’ll see. He loves working on new property. So we’ll see what happens."
In 2014, Hall said this about his interest in developing a follow-up. "Well, there’s been requests. [Laughs] I think people that have seen the movie would love to see some further adventures, but we haven’t really talked about it. We just haven’t had the chance."
"We put every ounce of everything into this, just to get it to be the best that we could, and right now we just want to focus on taking a break, getting a vacation, and then thinking about what happens next," he added. "But we do love these characters so much, so we’ll see what happens."
A decade on and it seems very little has changed. With Disney looking to cut streaming costs, we're also not anticipating another season of Baymax! becoming a reality, and after 60 episodes of television, it's hard to say whether there's another story worth telling.
Starring Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Daniel Henney, T. J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Maya Rudolph, and Alan Tudyk, Big Hero 6 revolves around the special bond that develops between Baymax, an adorable, plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamada.
When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends and transforms them into a team of high-tech heroes called Big Hero 6.
Big Hero 6 is now streaming on Disney+.