For the first time since the pandemic began, Pixar is planning a full theatrical release for its next creative venture. Like all movie studios, Pixar was faced with a unique challenge during the outbreak of COVID-19. While Pixar's Onward was released just before the shutdown, its next film, Soul, was released directly to streaming on Disney+ on Christmas of 2020. Luca is also set for a completely digital release on June 18, 2021.
Luca will tell the story of a young sea monster with the ability to turn into a human when he is on dry land. Even before the film's release to general audiences, it has garnered a lot of praise for its heart and characters. The film has also been praised for continuing the Pixar tradition of creating new animation effects in order to make the film. While Luca was originally supposed to have a hybrid release both in theaters and digitally, it was later changed to digital only, due to continued pandemic safety concerns.
While these three films were all impacted by the pandemic, several sources at Pixar have indicated that the next film on the docket is set to be released in theaters on March 11, 2022. In an exclusive in Insider, several anonymous sources indicated that Pixar's next film, Turning Red, would hopefully have a "normal" release in theaters. Though the source indicated that the studio's main concern would continue to be the safety of theater goers, Turning Red should be able to be shown on the big screen as things are beginning to open up.
Turning Red will tell the story of a young teen named Mei Lee who turns into a red panda whenever she gets too excited. The film will be directed by Domee Shi. Shi was the first woman to create a Pixar short with Bao, which premiered in 2018. Bao was awarded a well-deserved Oscar best animated short, so it will be exciting to see what Shi will do with the ability to tell a feature-length story with Pixar. Turning Red will be Shi's feature length directorial debut.
Starting in 2020, Pixar began a new streak of original films after releasing a few years of predominantly sequels, and Turning Red could be the first of this new wave not to be impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Though there's no official confirmation from Pixar about their plans for the film, these statements from the Turning Red creative team could signal a turning point as the film industry slowly creeps back to normal. Since both audiences and creatives at Pixar seemed to be growing frustrated with the solely digital releases, Turning Red is something people on both sides of the film have to look forward to.
Source: Insider
