Pixar put out two original movies last year withInside OutandThe Good Dinosaur. Both brought in varying results, the former winning a Best Animated Feature Oscar. But even though Pixar is still having success with new ideas, fans are eager to see sequels to the studio’s beloved properties. One of those properties isMonsters Inc.and there is still a chance, even if it isn’t a good one, that we could seeMonsters Inc. 3at some point.
Pixar alum andMonsters Inc.directorPete Docterrecently talked withEntertainment Weeklyand gave an update on a possible sequel. In 2013, Pixar did make a prequel to the movie in the form ofMonsters Universityand according toDocter, that was by design. Here is what he had to say when asked about the possibility ofMonsters Inc. 3.
“You never say never - who knows what will happen? We purposely went with a prequel forMonsters Universitybecause we didn’t want to answer some of the questions about what happens to Boo, and how does she grow up, and things like that. It would have to be really compelling, which is hopefully the benchmark for all of our sequels, anyway.”
There have been numerous rumors regarding a potentialMonsters Inc. 3for some time now, most of them unfounded. Most of the rumors have suggested that we would be seeing Boo all grown up, whichPete Docterstated they avoided intentionally, at least for now. As it turns out, one of the original ideas forMonsters Inc.would have involved a grown up interacting with monsters they encountered during their youth. Sort of in the style ofPeter Pan, which could be an idea Pixar revisits for aMonsters Inc. 3down the line.
“Part 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.”
In the EW article, they did make it clear that Pixar andPete Docterare not actively looking at doing aMonsters Inc.sequel right now. Currently, the studio has three sequels in development, includingThe Incredibles 2, which had its release date moved up to 2018 recently andToy Story 4, which had its release date moved back to 2019. The other sequel beingCars 3.Pete Docteralso offered an update onToy Story 4, which could also help explain whyMonsters Inc. 3isn’t currently being looked at.
“It’s hard, because as we get in there, we realize you don’t want this to just be another regurgitation of something we’ve seen. We’ve really plumbed the depths of these characters withWoody and Buzz, so to find something new that hasn’t been done, I feel like we’re onto it now. But it’s taken some real deep investigative work.”
The originalMonsters Inc.remains one of the most beloved Pixar movies ever made and it was also a big box office success back in 2001. The movie currently sits at a 96 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and made $543 million worldwide. The prequel,Monsters University, wasn’t quite as loved as it has a slightly less impressive 78 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It did manage to do better at the box office though, bringing in a very impressive $744 million worldwide. Money talks, but Pixar has a lot of integrity so unless they have a good idea forMonsters Inc. 3and the time is right, the movie won’t get made. But asPete Doctersaid, “never say never.”
