Credit: Disney/PixarIn 2015, Disney and Pixar decided to make a movie about what it is like inside the head of a young girl named Riley. Specifically, they decided to focus on her emotions, but not in any normal way. Instead, they brought her emotions — Anger, Fear, Joy, Sadness, and Disgust — to life in Inside Out. Riley had to deal with moving to a new place, starting a new school, and making new friends, so her emotions were all over the place.
Inside Out was a massive success for Disney and Pixar, grossing more than $850 million at the box office and even winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
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Nine years after audiences first fell in love with Riley’s emotions, Disney and Pixar released the highly anticipated sequel, Inside Out 2. In addition to Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, Inside Out 2 introduced a slew of new emotions — Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. There was also a brief appearance by the adorable Nostalgia.
Inside Out 2 was an even bigger hit than its predecessor, grossing more than $1.6 BILLION at the box office, making it one of the most successful animated films of all time. It also became Disney’s highest-grossing animated film ever, surpassing the previous winner, Frozen II (2019).
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With both films being so successful, it would make sense that a third film was on the way, but Disney and Pixar remained relatively quiet about another film since the sequel’s release last summer. However, in December, Dream Productions — an Inside Out spinoff — was released on Disney+, although it was not as popular as the two films.
Thankfully, we can now confirm that a third film is, in fact, in the works!
Dave Holstein, one of the writers of Inside Out 2, recently sat down with The Direct and was asked about a third film. He revealed that there have been discussions surrounding a third film in the franchise.
“Yeah, minimal. I mean, I would say that we’re still enjoying the the wave of fun, this second film. But I have no doubt that at some point a third, and hopefully, in my opinion, four through six, seven, eight, Inside Out should happen.”
He also divulged that in the third film, Riley will once again undergo some big changes, but we don’t know what those changes will be.
“In every new movie, you want the game to change, and every sequel, you want the game to change at its foundation. And what’s great about having Riley be the engine of this franchise is that she’s going to enter a different chapter of her life where the foundation does change. The things you want in life change, and who you are changes. Your sense of self changes. You know, it’s a fascinating from a writer’s perspective, you’re given new fodder to create something cool.”
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As for some possible new emotions in the third film? Well, Holstein already knows of two that he would like to explore — Schadenfreude and Lederhosen. Schadenfreude is when someone gets pleasure from another person’s misfortune.
“I’ll speak for Meg, who wrote the film with me. Meg’s favorite was schadenfreude, which was, you know, a German emotion, and Lederhosen, who just laughed when people got hurt and and conceptually, it worked really well, and they never made it in the final cut. It was very funny.”
And then there is the storyline that Joy set up for herself in the sequel film. As Riley ages, the way she feels emotions changes, and Joy is worried that she will cease to exist at some point.
Holstein acknowledged that he was surprised at how much Joy’s fears resonated with older audience members. That is why he wants to continue with Joy’s story and make the third movie even more relatable for a more mature audience.
“I think the older audiences reacting to the climax of the movie where Joy says, ‘Maybe she doesn’t exist as we get older.’ You know, that was surprising to me how much that resonated with a wider audience. And, you know, my hope was that there could be a story in the sequel that was about what happens to Joy as she gets older, you know. And because I’m asking that question a lot these days, so I’d like to, I’m just glad that that resonated with people.”
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While it is exciting to know that a third film will be hitting theaters, we don’t know how long the movie will take to come to fruition. There was a nine-year gap between the first two films, but hopefully, the success of the second film will mean a third will come sooner rather than later.
It is important to remember that Disney has not made a public statement about a third film, and might not do so until significant progress is made on a script. A third film can take many different directions, but much like the second movie, Disney and Pixar have to make sure that it stands out in its own unique way.
What kind of story would you like to see in Inside Out 3? What new emotions would you like to see Pixar explore? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!