Brad Bird Gets to Work on 'The Incredibles 2'

More than a decade after its release in theaters, The Incredibles is finally getting a much clamored-for sequel. The film was revealed to be in development in March of last year, but it may still be a while before we see our favorite family of supers grace the big screen again.

Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles, revealed in an interview with NPR earlier this month that he is only "just starting to write [The Incredibles 2]", which means the film is still in the early development stages. Pixar films take an average of four to five years to be completed, and although that may seem disheartening to those eagerly awaiting a followup to the studio's 2004 hit, it is certainly reassuring to know that they are taking their time crafting this story to make a sequel worthy of the original, which is often cited as the studio's best work. The film has not been given a release date yet, but I'd say the earliest we will see it is 2018, but more likely 2019. Pixar currently has a placeholder on June 15, 2018, so depending on how quickly the film is completed, we may or may not see it open on that day.

Brad Bird's next film, Tomorrowland, hits theaters in May, so it's probably safe to say that once that film has been released he will shift his attention towards the Incredibles sequel. As of right now we do not know for certain if Bird will return to direct The Incredibles 2, but fans can rest assured that he is at least penning the film's script. Either way, the Incredibles are coming back, and that, I think, is reason enough to get excited.

Confirmed: 'Incredibles 2' and 'Cars 3' In Development

You can keep pinching yourself as many times as you like, but this is no dream. The day has finally come, ladies and gentlemen. We have been begging, pleading, and clamoring for this announcement for years now, and Pixar has finally answered our prayers today by announcing that they are indeed making Cars 3. Oh, yeah, and a certain other sequel known as, yes indeed, The Incredibles 2.

The news broke today at the annual Disney shareholders meeting, where Disney CEO Bob Iger let it slip that both sequels are indeed currently in development over at Pixar. No other details were given, leaving fans to speculate about the plots and release dates.

So it's official: The Incredibles 2 is finally happening. It's hard to believe that the original film turns 10 years old this year. Over the past decade, it seems that no sequel has been asked for more than an Incredibles sequel. Fans have constantly inquired of director Brad Bird about when we could see another film starring the family of supers, and every time he has spoken about the matter, he's said that it will only happen if he can come up with a story better than that of the original.

Recently he stated:

I love the world. I love the characters, and if I could come with a story that was as good or better than the original, I’d go there in a second. I have pieces of things that I would love to see in a sequel, but I haven’t got them all together yet, and I certainly wouldn’t want to come out there with something that is less than the original. … Sequels are not part of the business plan at Pixar. It’s all about the filmmakers being passionate about going somewhere.

Well, it looks like he's finally put those pieces together. Bird will reportedly pen the sequel's script, although it is currently unknown if he will return to the director's chair for the Parr family's second outing. It is reassuring to know he is involved in the project in some form, however, and I can definitely see him directing The Incredibles 2 once he's finished with Tomorrowland (which hits theaters next year).

The announcement comes right on the heels of yesterday's news that the original Incredibles film is being converted to 3D. No word yet on whether the film will be given a theatrical re-release once the conversion is complete, however that does seem a bit unlikely at the moment after Disney's past two 3D re-releases underperformed at the box office. But who knows, they could bring the film back to theaters in a few years in order to pump audiences up for the second installment, similar to how Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were released in 3D as a double feature a few months before Toy Story 3 hit theaters.

As for Cars 3, it was bound to happen eventually. It's obviously the less exciting of the two films announced today, but I don't see how its existence is a problem. I love the Cars universe; it's got some great characters, the first film is fantastic in my opinion, the shorts are great as well, and I still think Cars 2, while underwhelming, is decent and definitely not the piece of garbage most people claim it is. And if you've been to Cars Land at Disneyland, there's no denying that it's pretty darn impressive. Plus, who's to say the third film won't be any good? For all we know, it could be better than the second installment, and heck, it could even surpass the original! According to Michael Wallis (voice of Sheriff in the films), Cars 3 will take audiences back to Route 66 and will even include Route 99, so it seems like it will be closer in style to the first film than the second.

Overall, not a bad day in terms of Pixar news. We're finally getting the sequel everyone has been praying for, and the sequel that no one really asked for, but could still prove to be good, if not excellent.

And please, if you're still on that whole "Pixar is all about sequels now" bandwagon, do recall that there are not one, not two, but three (and probably more) completely original and very promising projects in the Pixar pipeline as well.

What do you think? Are you excited for The Incredibles 2? How excited are you for The Incredibles 2? What are your thoughts on Cars 3?

Mission Impossible 4: The Pixar Connections

Do you recognize the code on this ring?

I recently had the chance to watch the fantastic Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and aside from the fact that it was directed by former Pixar director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille), there were some other connections to Pixar in the film, which made it even more exciting to watch.

The image above is a screencapture from the film, where I couldn't help noticing the peculiar code on Ethan Hunt's ring; A113. This code is well-known to Pixar and animation fans, as it was a classroom number at CalArts, the university which several Pixarians and filmmakers, such as John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Brad Bird, attended. The code has since appeared in several films and TV shows, such as The Simpsons (on which Brad Bird worked on multiple times), The Iron Giant (also directed by Bird), and every Pixar film to date.

A113 appeared more than once throughout the film, actually. One scene involves Ethan Hunt mentioning a "rendezvous at Alpha 113" during a phone call.

The other Pixar reference that was found in the film was the voice of Pixarian Teddy Newton, who recently directed the Pixar short Day & Night. He's voiced multiple characters in Pixar films, including the Chatter Telephone in Toy Story 3. His most recent role was the voice of Mini Buzz in Small Fry, the Toy Story Toon which debuted in November. Newton's role in Mission Impossible, while not a very big one, also involves him speaking through a phone. Watch a clip of his cameo here:

Pretty cool cameo, huh?

Brad Bird may have left Pixar, but he still seems to be carrying a little part of the animation studio inside him. I also hear that A113 may be appearing in The Avengers, which hits theaters in the US and Canada this Friday, although I'm not sure how or why it got there...