http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/01/pixar-sequels-ratatouille-wall-e-inside-out
It’s perfectly understandable to wonder why there are no rats, robots, or anthropomorphized emotions on Pixar’s upcoming slate of sequels, which kicked off with Finding Dory and continues through 2019 with Cars 3, Toy Story 4, and The Incredibles 2.
In a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly, Pixar president Jim Morris spoke about the studio’s development process, why certain sequels made the cut, and why you won’t be seeing anything less than original at Pixar for quite some time.
“Most studios jump on doing a sequel as soon as they have a successful film, but our business model is a filmmaker model, and we don’t make a sequel unless the director of the original film has an idea that they like and are willing to go forward on,” Morris explains. “A sequel in some regards is even harder [than the original] because you’ve got this defined world which, on the one hand, is a leg up, and on the other hand has expectations that you can’t disappoint on.”
Essentially, Pixar’s reliance on a director-driven model means the studio has to be choosy about which director they can assign to a picture, thereby putting that filmmaker out of commission for as long as it takes to complete the film (anywhere between three and five years). Since the studio won’t hand the reins of a director’s brainchild to another body (with rare exception), some of the Pixar sequels you’re hoping for just can’t happen until other films happen first — sequel or not.
Morris says, “Everything after Toy Story and The Incredibles is an original right now.” Following The Incredibles 2 in 2019, Pixar’s next two films — currently listed on Disney’s release schedule for March and June of 2020, respectively — are both originals, independent of one another but both of which take place in “unusual but believable worlds that take us in even other directions than we’ve pursued in the past.” Following those two, Morris says, are two more original films in early development that aren’t dated on the studio’s schedule yet but are “highly likely.” No other sequels are planned at the moment, Morris says.