Talk about emotional news. In a major surprise at Disney’s massive D23 Expo, the Pixar panel just unveiled something huge: the legendary animated studio is officially working on Inside Out 2, a sequel to Pixar’s 2015 instant-classic. It was unveiled on stage by Amy Poehler, Joy herself, to be released in cinemas in the summer of 2024 – nearly a decade after the original debuted.
For now, the film is simply known as Inside Out 2 (and it may stay that way). Pete Docter won’t be back to direct this one, but that duty falls to incoming director Kelsey Mann, bravely making his feature directorial debut with a follow-up to one of Pixar’s most untouchable outings. Meg LeFauve, co-writer on the first film, is back on scripting duties, with Mark Nielsen as producer.
Most details are under wraps for now — but what we do know is that Poehler is returning (obviously), and that it will centre on Riley this time as a teenager. It’s a time that brings up all kinds of new emotions — and so, we’ll be getting a fresh batch of emotion characters in this one too. Just, who they are exactly remains to be seen.
So, how do we feel right now? There’s definitely Joy, and let’s be honest, a little bit of Fear about how this will all turn out — but in Pixar we trust. Fingers crossed this one won’t lead to Sadness, Disgust, and Anger.