‘Cars 4,’ here we go!
The Big Picture
- Disney CEO Bob Iger announced a shift towards more animated sequels balanced with original content in upcoming years.
- The studio will still release sequels like
Inside Out 2
and
Moana 2,
but will pay attention to original stories too. - While leaning on sequels for success is almost risk-free, Disney aims to find a balance for fan enjoyment.
It’s not exactly a secret that Disney has become increasingly worried about its major IPs’ performance in theaters over the last year. It became clear that a change was in order, and today the company CEO Bob Iger announced a slate of modifications that is set to remodel the studio’s output. He started off by addressing the Marvel issue and the superhero fatigue, and then moved on to reveal how the studio will approach its animated films slate.
Iger revealed that the upcoming years will be a balancing act between the original stories and sequels. The executive mentioned the power of Disney sequels — titles like Frozen II, Toy Story 4 and Finding Dory all passed the billion mark when it came to their worldwide box office performance — and suggested that the studio wants to put Disney and Pixar back on top. He stated:
“We’re gonna balance sequels with originals. Specifically in animation, we had gone through a period where our original films and animation, both Disney and Pixar, were dominating. We’re now swinging back a bit to lean on sequels.”
Disney Is Already Leaning On Sequels, Though
Not that there isn’t a slate of Disney sequels coming our way. Just this year, fans will flock to theaters to see Inside Out 2, Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King. However, the fact that Disney will at least pay attention to its original content output is certainly good news — something that Pixar employees have been advocating for some years. While it’s pretty easy to realize that banking on sequels and remakes is a way of seeing some guaranteed box office returns, Disney (and other studios) can’t ignore the fact that audiences also want to see something new and that surprises them, which ultimately means that risks have to be taken in order to create new and successful IPs.
The “lean on sequels” bit, however, can be a little worrying for fans, since it suggests that some popular titles will continue to live on. Every time a new Toy Story sequel is announced, for example, fans start to wonder where else can the franchise take Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen) after so many years. At the same time, we can’t ignore that a well-done sequel can greatly improve on an original concept, so if Disney indeed finds that balance between original and repeated content, fans stand to gain a lot in terms of entertainment.
This article was originally published on collider.com