Inside Out 2 tore its way through the box office and Disney Plus in 2024, breaking records for the highest-grossing animation and most-streamed premiere, and since then, many of us have been anxiously wondering when we can next dive back into Riley’s mind.
After all, the new movie contained a couple of key details that hinted at more sequel storylines to come, including the introduction of a new emotion (Nostalgia, voiced by June Squibb) that didn’t play a big role in Inside Out 2, but gave us a hint of a potentially returning character in future films.
I spoke to writer and director Kelsey Mann, who would neither confirm nor deny that Pixar was considering expanding the franchise with Inside Out 3 (it’s already released a spin-off TV show); all he would say was that there wasn't anything yet in the pipeline: “[There are] no current plans for any follow up film,” he told me.
Where ideas are made
Mann, did, however, divulge during a conversation about the making of Inside Out 2 that he'd explored three different ideas for the storyline of the sequel, as well as “a lot of [new] emotions coming into headquarters”. While two of these, obviously, didn’t make the cut, this does mean there are likely some ideas leftover on the storyboard.
These ideas could well end up finding their way into future films in the Inside Out franchise, especially if some characters/emotions, like the aforementioned Nostalgia, are brought back to play a bigger role in later installments.
The story of Inside Out 2 suggests an infinite amount of possible new characters that could join in future outings, as the introduction of four new emotions in addition to Nostalgia (Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment and Envy) to represent Riley’s maturing mind as she moves from child to teenager suggests that this could happen again as she grows up.
“There are so many ideas. I don't have an overall concept of Riley when she's [a certain] age. I don't have anything like that, but I have lots of ideas for other lands or other emotions in the mind that I think would be great,” Mann said when discussing the different possibilities for turning neuroscience ideas into colorful animated analogies.
Mann’s enthusiasm for where one of the best Disney Plus movies could head next is infectious, so much so that it seems a foregone conclusion that Pixar Studios will be returning to this golden goose soon enough. “There are so many great ideas that I'm like ‘this deserves to see the light of day’. And I hope it does, I really hope it does,” Mann added.
A dream production
If the lack of any solid Inside Out 3 news isn’t what you wanted to hear, and you’ve already exhausted all the new Disney Plus movies as well as multiple re-watches of the Inside Out movies, then you’re going to love the Inside Out 2 spin-off series Dream Productions that premiered on the streamer in December.
As Mann explains, Dream Productions, which is set between the events of Inside Out and Inside Out 2, "takes place all in Riley’s mind at Dream Productions, where all her dreams are made like a movie studio".
“It's really fantastic, and I can't wait for the world to see that, because you get to see a little bit more of Riley’s life, which we do a little bit more of,” Mann says of what will likely become one of the best Disney Plus shows with its 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating from the audience at the time of the writing.
The series offers fans a great way to jump back into Riley’s mind in between watches of two of the best family movies available to stream on Disney Plus. While the future of Inside Out 3 is still up in the air, I don’t doubt that we’ll be returning to headquarters in no time.
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