Following the underwhelming opening weekend release of the latest Pixar movie Elemental, the acclaimed animation studio’s creative chief officer Pete Docter has shared his thoughts regarding the audience’s current preference for established franchises over original stories. Speaking with Variety, Docter cites nostalgia as one of the main reasons why people nowadays tend to gravitate towards more familiar stories and characters.
”Right now, the world seems to want the comfort of what they know, which is sequels, and movies based on things like comic books or video games. But all of these things were original at one point,” He said.
Despite the poor box office results of their recent movies like Luca, Soul, and Turning Red, Docter reiterates that Pixar will continue to develop new original stories for the audience. “I think it’s essential for us to develop new original stories, which are harder to publicize, harder to get people excited to go see them,” he continued. “But I think audiences deserve it. They want to find that surprise, along with the comfort of the expectation.”
Pixar’s Upcoming Projects
Following the theatrical release of Elemental, Pixar has recently announced the premiere of their next original movie in the form of the coming-of-age sci-fi comedy Elio. The upcoming film is set as a space adventure following an underdog kid who gets mistaken as the leader of Earth by an alien organization. In addition, the studio is also currently developing the long-awaited sequel to 2015’s Inside Out, which will feature Riley as a teenager. Both movies are slated for a 2024 release.
Pixar is also preparing for the upcoming fall debut of its very first long-form streaming series Win or Lose, which is a sports comedy centering around a middle school softball team. The Disney+ animated series will feature the voices of Will Forte, Milan Ray, and Rosa Salazar.
