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Get ready to head back to Monstropolis.<\/p>\n
Pixar is developing a third Monsters, Inc.<\/em> film, according to The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>, joining Incredibles 3<\/em> and Coco 2<\/em> on an increasingly packed lineup.<\/p>\n No release date has been announced, and Pixar hasn\u2019t made any official statement \u2014 the WSJ report is the sole public indication the project exists.<\/p>\n The new film would be the first theatrical sequel to the 2001 original. Monsters University<\/em> (2013) was a prequel.<\/p>\n Pixar hasn\u2019t confirmed where in the franchise timeline this story will land, so whether we\u2019ll pick up after the events of the first movie or head somewhere else entirely remains a mystery.<\/p>\n The original Monsters, Inc.<\/em>, directed by Pete Docter<\/strong> (now Pixar\u2019s Chief Creative Officer), was produced on a budget of approximately $115 million and earned $579 million at the global box office.<\/p>\n It picked up Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score, and Best Sound Editing, and won Best Original Song for Randy Newman<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cIf I Didn\u2019t Have You.\u201d<\/p>\n The Best Animated Feature nod was part of the category\u2019s first-ever year \u2014 though it lost to Shrek<\/em>.<\/p>\n Monsters University<\/em> went even bigger. With a budget of approximately $200 million, it grossed $743 million worldwide.<\/p>\n John Goodman<\/strong> (Sully) and Billy Crystal<\/strong> (Mike Wazowski) starred in both films and reprised their roles for Monsters at Work<\/em>, a TV series that premiered its first season on Disney+ in 2021 and aired its second season on Disney Channel in 2024.<\/p>\n That series also brought in Ben Feldman<\/strong> as new character Tylor Tuskmon.<\/p>\n The Monsters brand stretches into the theme parks, too. Attractions already exist at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, Magic Kingdom in Orlando, and Tokyo Disneyland.<\/p>\n A full Monsters, Inc.-themed land is coming to Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios, replacing the Muppet*Vision 3D area.<\/p>\n Back in 2016, Docter talked about a potential third film with Entertainment Weekly<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never say never \u2014 who knows what will happen?\u201d Docter said. \u201cWe purposely went with a prequel for Monsters University<\/em> because we didn\u2019t want to answer some of the questions about what happens to Boo, and how does she grow up, and things like that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would have to be really compelling, which is hopefully the benchmark for all of our sequels, anyway,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He also revealed that a Boo-focused sequel had been among the franchise\u2019s earliest pitches before being scrapped.<\/p>\n Boo, of course, is the human girl at the center of the original film\u2019s plot, in which two monsters help return her to the human world.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of that idea was like a Peter Pan-type thing, where [Wendy] had been visited by Peter Pan as a kid and had sort of half-forgotten who he was,\u201d Docter told EW at the time.<\/p>\n Whether the current development revisits that Boo-centric concept? No one outside Pixar knows yet.<\/p>\n Monsters, Inc. 3<\/em> joins a development slate heavy on franchise names:<\/p>\n That breaks down to three franchise sequels and two original concepts.<\/p>\n Ono Ghost Market<\/em> stands out as the biggest swing at new IP, especially with the wrinkle that it started as a streaming project and got elevated to theatrical \u2014 a shift that says something about how the studio\u2019s internal priorities are changing.<\/p>\n The timing of all these announcements tracks with a strong run at the box office.<\/p>\n Pixar\u2019s newest film, Hoppers<\/em>, was No. 1 at the domestic box office over the weekend with about $46 million in ticket sales, per The New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n That $46 million opening for an original title gives the studio a strong hand. A Pixar that can still debut an original film at the top of the domestic charts has room to justify balancing franchise sequels with untested properties.<\/p>\n The sequel titles bring financial predictability. The originals like Ono Ghost Market<\/em> and the untitled musical are creative bets of the kind that built Pixar\u2019s reputation in the first place.<\/p>\n How that balance plays out as these films move through production will be one of animation\u2019s most watched storylines over the next few years.<\/p>\n And for fans who\u2019ve been waiting since 2001 to find out what happened to Boo after that closet door closed? There might finally be an answer on the way.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\u2018Monsters, Inc.\u2019 Has Been a Money-Maker From the Start<\/h2>\n
Pete Docter Once Teased the Idea of a Boo Storyline<\/h2>\n
Pixar\u2019s Lineup is Packed With Familiar Titles<\/h2>\n
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The New Slate Arrives on the Heels of a Box Office Win<\/h2>\n