While many films will appear in Pixar's future, there are two particularly significant new releases in Pixar's upcoming media calendar: Inside Out 2 and Toy Story 5 will break one Pixar promise that was inevitably always going to be broken. Pixar's upcoming films, as it turns out, are going to be both original films and sequels, going back to some of Pixar's most beloved products. In particular, two films that stand out in Pixar's future plans are Inside Out 2 and Toy Story 5, both of which belong to franchises that are strongly associated with Pixar's brand.
Both films are sequels to two beloved Pixar series. Inside Out 2 is the first sequel to the 2015 animated movie Inside Out, following Riley's adventures once again. Things are not the same for Toy Story 5 as Toy Story 5 is going to be the fifth installment in the series. Given the end of Toy Story 4 when Woody and Buzz share an emotional goodbye, many may have thought that the franchise would finish. However, with Toy Story 5 going forward, it seems like the Toy Story franchise still has more stories to tell.
Pixar Was Focused On Original Content... But Is Now Really Back To Sequels
After Toy Story 4, Pixar famously promised they would implement a focus on original movies. While this did happen, it perhaps didn't work as well as they may have hoped. Pixar has focused on original content recently, as films like Onward and Soul released in 2020 prove, but also has even more planned with Elemental in 2023. It is safe to say that while Pixar is not cutting its original content completely, it is also not focusing on it entirely since Toy Story 5 and Inside Out 2 will be two of the biggest upcoming Pixar releases in the future.
In fact, they have now gone back on their promise to focus on Pixar original content rather than sequels with these two massive sequel announcements. The future release of Toy Story 5 and Inside Out 2 evidently suggests a need to prioritize sequel movies. While this mostly regards only two sequels in particular, the most concerning aspect is that this may represent a trend for Pixar going forward. As such, many viewers may wonder if pivoting back to sequels is going to represent a setback for original animation content that Pixar may have released in the near future.
Why Pixar Returning To Sequels Was Inevitable
After all, it makes sense for Pixar to return to sequels as they ultimately are a very lucrative product. The recent announcement of Toy Story 5 and Inside Out 2 makes the question of whether or not these films would have been produced had Pixar's original content been doing well. With four Disney animation sequels currently in the works, it is entirely possible that Pixar would have chosen to go back to its major successes regardless, this seems like an inevitable choice when faced with the reality of original content films not really working for them.
Inevitably, Pixar may have considered a return to the sequels even if the original content was doing well, but given the current situation, it makes sense for Pixar to rely on guaranteed hits. Moreover, this may actually be good news for original content as they can still be produced while relying on the safe box office return from sequels of well-established franchises like Toy Story 5 and Inside Out 2. Furthermore, while this may be the start of a sequels trend for Pixar, it is not all set in stone as the studio may choose to focus on original content once again in the future.