Pixar Confirms ‘Monsters Inc. 3’ as the Studio Continues to Lean Hard Into Sequels

A lengthy Wall Street Journal profile sets the table for the next 10 years of Pixar movies that await us, meant to coincide with the weekend debut of its latest release, “Hoppers.”

No surprise: plenty of sequels await. “Monsters Inc. 3” is now officially happening, coming in 2029 or 2030, which will be around 16 years since the last one, “Monsters University,” helmed by Dan Scanlon, which outgrossed the original with a $743M global tally. No word yet on who will direct, and plot details were not revealed.

In addition, we have this coming summer’s “Toy Story 5,” “The Incredibles 3,” dated for 2028 and not directed by Brad Bird, instead helmed by Peter Sohn (“Elemental”). Then there’s also “Coco 2,” set for a 2029 debut.

That’s four sequels dated for the next four years. What could they possibly tackle after that? It would be damn-near sacrilege to give “WALL-E” a sequel, and I doubt they’ll ever go there. “Ratatouille 2,” on the other hand, feels entirely possible — Brad Bird just needs to come up with a good story. There have also been talks of an “Inside Out 3,” which seems inevitable given that the last one turned out to be the highest-grossing Pixar movie ever.

There will, however, be some original stories to look forward to, such as “Gatto,” done in hand-painted animation and tackling the story of a cat in Venice. Pixar is also turning “Ono Ghost Market,” which was supposed to be a Disney+ series, into a feature film — inspired by “Asian myths about supernatural bazaars where the living and dead interact.” Furthermore, the studio is developing its first-ever musical, from “Turning Red” director Domee Shi.

Listen, I’ve made my peace with Pixar: their golden age of releasing classic after classic is long gone. From 1995 to 2010 they could do no wrong, with one great film after another: “Toy Story,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters Inc,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Cars,” “Ratatouille,” “WALL-E,” “Up,” and “Toy Story 3.” What a run of films — 15 years, and the only sequels were those great “Toy Story” follow-ups.

Things started to get wobblier once they decided to focus more on sequels, and their original films also suffered creatively. Don’t get me wrong, there have been a few good original Pixar films released since then — “Coco,” “Soul,” and “Hoppers” spring to mind — but none of them have come close to the magic of their golden era.

The end result is a studio that has seemed adrift, alternating between safe sequels and underwhelming originals, unsure of its voice and unable to shepherd bold, emotionally resonant ideas into the cultural zeitgeist — and Pixar hasn’t quite recaptured that old magic since.