Laika Entertainment CEO Travis Knight has no intention of making a Kubo and the Two Strings sequel, and has a pretty firm stance against franchises in general.
Kubo and the Two Strings is the latest stop-motion animated movie from Laika Entertainment, which has previously put out only three other feature films, including Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls.
Though each of their films have been successful in their own right, don’t expect a sequel any time soon — or ever, if Knight continues to have his way.
Related: Kubo and the Two Strings movie review: Stunningly crafted, but far too short
Cartoon Brew reveals that Knight is dead set against seeing a sequel for any of Laika’s films, no matter the popularity.
“I take a firm stand against sequels. My industry brethren are a little shocked at how firmly I’m committed to not doing sequels,” he says.
He admits there are good sequels out there, but says, “[I]f you look at where our industry is going, it’s dominated by franchises and brands, re-dos, re-makes, sequels and prequels, where all these old presents are re-wrapped and offered up as new gifts.”
He’s got a point. Audiences have noticed the exponential increase in reboots, including Ghostbusters and Mad Max and The Mummy just to name a fraction of a fraction of the remakes currently released or in production.
This also doesn’t touch huge franchises like Marvel or DC, which put out several superhero films a year. They each tell the story of a different character, but when you get down to the basics, you have to admit they’re remarkably similar.
“I have no interest in doing that,” Knight states.
Related: The 10 best stop-motion animated movies to watch after you see Kubo
What Laika is interested in doing, however, is making original stories, putting out one film each year instead of every two years, and creating movies that don’t center on a child as the main character.
Laika’s reputation is well-earned, so despite the fact we’ll probably never get a sequel to some of our all-time favorite movies, it’s nice to hear they’ll be bringing us more of what we love anyway.