This weekend saw the Walt Disney Company hosting its D23 convention, a sort of mini-Comic-Con focused on Mouse House products and movies/TV shows. The definite highlight was Saturday morning’s big studio presentation, where a lot of new movies were showcased, including The Avengers and The Muppets. But possibly most exciting was the announcement of two new films currently in active development by the Pixar team.
The first, which will be directed by studio veteran Bob Peterson, focuses on dinosaurs, which lends credibility to the rumours that the company was working on something dino-related that sprang up last year.
Peterson and producer John Walker arrived on stage to announce the movie, admitting that it doesn’t yet have a title. So right now, it’s called The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dinosaurs. And the plot? They wouldn’t say much beyond the basic info Disney gave out: “What if that life-changing asteroid missed Earth? The hilarious tale depicts a world where dinosaurs never went extinct." The only element on display for now was one piece of concept art, showing a child riding the head of a dinosaur. That film will arrive on November 27, 2013.
Even further away is the second project announced on stage, with Monsters, Inc/Up director Pete Docter at the helm and producer Jonas Rivera by his side. It’s another untitled production so far, currently called The Untitled Pixar Movie That Takes You Inside The Mind, described by Docter as a comic look at how ideas come together and the inner workings of our brains. We have to wait until May 2014 for that one.
Pixar’s next two films, of course, are Brave – from which a new scene was shown featuring the suitors trying to win heroine Merida (Kelly Macdonald)’s hand in marriage – and prequel Monsters University, which was pimped via live a appearance by Billy Crystal and some concept art.
Brave hits us on August 17 next year. Monsters University will gradate July 19, 2013.