The next Pixar films to return to theaters in 3D are The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Does this mean sequels are in the works?
According to Screen Daily, Pixar’s director of 3D production Josh Hollander revealed at the 3D Creative Summit in London that the studio is currently prepping the re-release of the two Brad Bird directed films, The Incredibles and Ratatouille.
“Right now we’re working on The Incredibles, which is a lot of fun in 3D,” Hollander said. “I’m not sure what the release strategy for it will be. It’s been an interesting challenge to work on technology because – while the film was released 10 years ago – the technology is even older as it took four years to make.”
Although Hollander says it is a challenge, that doesn’t mean they can’t do it. Pixar has previously converted Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo to 3D, and those four films were older than The Incredibles. The films were later released on Blu-ray 3D.
The 3D conversion of Ratatouille is finished, however.
“We have a version of Ratatouille, which works really well in 3D and we’re trying to figure out exactly what the release strategy for that will be,” Hollander said. It should be expected that this will be the first of the pair to hit theaters.
Notably, Pixar’s parent studio, Disney, re-released The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast in 2011 and 2012. They had also planned to re-release The Little Mermaid but canceled those plans.
3D re-releases are relatively inexpensive for studios to produce, so they tend to be very profitable at the box office.
Pixar was set to release a new movie this year, The Good Dinosaur, but had to delay it due to creative issues. This means there will be no Pixar movie in 2014.
Their next film is an original: Inside Out directed by Monsters, Inc. and Up helmer Pete Docter scheduled for release in 2015. The following year will see the release of the Finding Nemo sequel Finding Dory.
Today’s announcement certainly isn’t an announcement of The Incredibles 2 or Ratatouille 2, but it could be a precursor. All of the other 3D theatrical re-releases preceded sequels (or prequels), and it’s possible it could be the case again. Writer/director Brad Bird has always stated that he’s waiting for the right story to return to the Incredibles world, but perhaps he’s found that story.
We can only hope.