One of Pixar’s most acclaimed films is getting a sequel. “Inside Out 2” is in the works from director Kelsey Mann, it was announced at the D23 Expo on Friday.
Meg LeFauve is writing the script and Mark Nielsen is producing the pic, which is very early in production and coming in summer 2024.
Released in 2015, the original “Inside Out” imagined a world where people have five core personified emotions — Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust — guiding their thoughts and actions through everyday life. The film zeroed in on the emotions of Riley, a middle-schooler struggling to adapt to her family’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco, as her leading emotion Joy is expelled from the control center and forced to team up with her polar opposite Sadness in a quest through her mind. The film ended with the two coming to an understanding as Joy recognizes the need for Riley to experience an emotionally complex life, and she begins collaborating more with her fellow emotions to steer the girl through adolescence.
For the sequel, Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black will return as the emotions Joy, Sadness and Anger. In addition, original director Pete Doctor, who also directed “Up” and “Soul,” will return to helm the film and cowrite the script. Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling, who voiced Fear and Disgust, will not return for the sequel. Other cast members from the original film included Kaitlyn Dias as Riley, with Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan as her mom and dad.
A critical success, “Inside Out” won best animated feature at the 2016 Oscars and received a nomination for best original screenplay. The film was also financially successful, grossing over $800 million at the global box office.
“Inside Out 2” will follow Pixar’s previously announced “Elemental,” which hits theaters June 16, 2023.
