Pixar is currently enjoying its return to the spotlight with the studio’s latest co-release with Disney, Hoppers, marking the 30th movie released in the company’s history. After this new movie came to theaters on the back of excellent reviews, Pixar shows no signs of slowing down, with multiple new original movies and sequels in the works. As of early 2026, at least four new movies are in development at Pixar, all but one of those being sequels from established franchises.
Later this year, Pixar will add another chapter to its first and most financially successful franchise, Toy Story, as Tom Hanks and Tim Allen will reprise their roles as Woody and Buzz Lightyear for Toy Story 5 in June. Early plans are also in place for Coco 2 and Incredibles 3 (recording for which starts this month), and they will now have company in the development department for Pixar.
In a recent Wall Street Journal profile on Hoppers, the outlet also reported that Disney and Pixar are in development on a third Monsters, Inc. movie; the news was later corroborated by both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Story details have not yet been revealed, and the threequel does not have a release timeframe. While 2001’s Monsters, Inc. was directed by current Pixar CCO Pete Docter (co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman) and 2013’s Monsters University by Dan Scanlon, Pixar did not reveal who would be leading the third movie behind the scenes.
The last fans saw of John Goodman’s James P. Sullivan and Billy Crystal’s Michael Wazowski was in two seasons of the streaming series, Monsters at Work, in 2021 and 2024. This show serves as a sequel to the original Monsters, Inc. movie, showing Sully as the new CEO of the titular scare company working alongside Mike as they retool the energy-generation process and switch from scaring kids to making them laugh. Training new recruits and dealing with classic enemies from the first two movies, the show ends with Monstropolis learning the advantages and benefits of laugh power compared to the scream power from the first two movies as a core focus.
Looking ahead, the big question will be whether the third movie in the saga is a true sequel or another prequel, as Monsters University was. Most are expecting the former of those choices to come to fruition, as many have wanted a big-screen adventure to add to Mike and Sully’s story after taking over leadership at their place of work. Considering it will have been well over 25 years since their first story concluded, the time could be right to further add to the changes they have made to Monsters, Inc. post-scream era.
This movie could also give Pixar an avenue to mesh together lingering storylines from both movies and the Disney+ show, including villains like Nathan Fillion’s Johnny Worthington III and Steve Buscemi’s Randall Boggs. Many also hope to see Boo from the original movie revisited, as this sequel could provide an opportunity to look at her as an older kid or even a mother to her own baby.
No matter how the story details play out, Pixar bringing new life to this popular franchise should give fans plenty to look forward to from the world of monsters and the greater Monstropolis area.
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