In a new cover story with Bloomberg, it was revealed Pixar is considering new entries in existing franchises such as Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
Over the past 4 years, Pixar — one of the world’s leading animation studios — has slowly started to lose its prestige, and this is an effect the company itself has noticed and is trying to combat. It began when the world entered quarantine in 2020, forcing the animation studio to debut Soul, Luca, and Turning Red on Disney+.
In 2022, Pixar returned to theatres with Lightyear — the confusingly marketed film which is a fictional film that Andy watches within the Toy Story universe. It grossed a disappointing $226 million worldwide and in 2023 Elemental debuted with the worst domestic box office opening since Toy Story at $29.6 million.
Pixar Focusing on Sequels to Existing IP
To revitalise the Pixar brand, the animation studio is looking to balance original films with sequels and spin-offs. In a cover story with Bloomberg, it’s revealed that Pixar president Jim Morris aims to make three films every two years with every previous hit looking to be considered for a reboot — which Finding Nemo and The Incredibles are leading candidates for.
Furthermore, Pete Docter, CCO of Pixar and director of Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out, and Soul, sees potential in a new entry into the Finding Nemo franchise, saying: “Where else have we not gone in the ocean? The ocean’s a big place. I think there’s a lot of opportunity there. We’re kind of fishing around—ha-ha.” The Finding Nemo franchise is a valuable asset to the studio with both films in the top 5 Pixar box office grosses worldwide.
Additionally, Pixar is set to debut the sequel to 2015’s Inside Out this June. Inside Out grossed $858 million and led on to win Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. The success of Inside Out 2 will determine whether or not Pixar still has the pull to garner large crowds at theatres.
There are currently four Pixar films slated till 2026. Inside Out 2 is out this June on the 14th, Elio is dated for June 13, 2025, an untitled film is set for March 6, 2026 and Toy Story 5 will debut on June 19, 2026.
Additionally, Turning Red director Domee Shi is working on an undisclosed original film for Pixar, so perhaps it’s the untitled 2026 film. Shi spoke of the undisclosed film in an interview with Deadline:
“All I can really say about it is it’ll be very me and will be very much inspired by my background, my culture, and the themes and ideas that I love talking about.”
Similarly, Pixar will debut several series on Disney+. Win or Lose is set to release eight episodes later this year and Dream Productions — a show set in the world of Inside Out — is set to premiere next year. It seems that Pixar will only continue to release shows on Disney+ with Pixar president Jim Morris saying:
“If we do more stuff for Disney+, it should be a series, and then that makes a clean demarcation between what we do for theaters and what we do for streaming.”
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