The Soul creative team confirms it is not a sequel to Inside Out. Released in 2015, Inside Out quickly became one of Pixar's most acclaimed offerings, earning rave reviews for the way it tackled complex thematic material in a family film. Its story resonated with audiences of all ages, and Inside Out became a massive commercial success en route to winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Not only is it considered one of Pixar's best titles, Inside Out ranks among the greatest movies of the 2010s.
Inside Out was helmed by Pete Docter, who also directed Pixar's upcoming film, Soul. Both titles explore humanity and what it means to be yourself in unique ways, and after the first Soul trailer came out earlier this year, it was easy for viewers to draw connections between the two movies. This led some people to speculate Soul could possibly be a secret Inside Out sequel, but despite any thematic or conceptual parallels the movies share, Soul is a wholly original narrative.
In mid-September, Screen Rant was invited to attend a Soul virtual press day, which included a press conference with Docter, co-director Kemp Powers, and producer Dana Murray. At one point, Docter discussed what draw him to fantastical worlds in films (including his Monsters, Inc. and Inside Out) and what he's learned from his previous experiences. As Docter talked about the similarities between Soul and Inside Out, Powers jumped in to quickly clarify they're not part of the same series:
Docter: And, I don't know, I've always been attracted to fantastic worlds 'cause I guess I like to escape this one. And, uh, [LAUGH] it's, these two films, Inside Out and Soul I think are an escape but they're also intimately connected in ways that hopefully everyone will find familiar, um, and kind of speak to themselves.
Powers: To clarify, that doesn't mean... Soul is not a sequel. Pete did not just say that Soul is a sequel to Inside Out.
Shortly after Inside Out premiered in June 2015, Docter revealed Pixar had no plans for Inside Out 2 and he instead was interested in coming up with another original idea. Based on that, it isn't surprising to hear Soul stands on its own, but it's good to have that bit of clarity. The Soul filmmakers admitted they were "tired" of seeing this theory circulate, so they took the opportunity to debunk it now before it gains any more traction in the build-up to Soul's release. There have been surprise movie sequels in the past (see: Split being connected to Unbreakable), meaning it's easy to see why viewers might have theorized Soul and Inside Out were a franchise.
In recent years, Pixar has strung together some massive hits by making sequels to some of their biggest releases, such as Toy Story 4 and Incredibles 2. While those movies proved to be enjoyable and were well-received, most viewers would agree Pixar was at the height of their powers during the 2000s, when they delivered one captivating original movie after another. The studio is known for transporting audiences to amazing new worlds and telling a story that examines the human condition through a fascinating lens - be it talking fish or a lonely robot. As beloved as Inside Out is, it works perfectly as a standalone movie, and hopefully Soul can be the latest in a long line of instant original Pixar classics.
