There may be a better chance than ever before that Disney and Pixar could announce plans to make Incredibles 3.
Bob and Helen Parr became two of Pixar's most iconic characters alongside their kids, Jack-Jack, Violet, and Dash, as the family of superheroes brought two of the most celebrated animated features ever.
And with legacy sequels becoming ever more popular while Disney and Pixar look to regain their usual level of acclaim in the animated department, many are wondering whether Incredibles 3 could help the companies in that endeavor.
Incredible Theatrical Success for The Incredibles Franchise
The first two Incredibles movies are regarded as two of Pixar’s most successful movies financially and critically, boasting a 97% and 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.
The first movie is Pixar’s tenth-highest-grossing film ever with $631,441,092 in box office revenue, and Incredibles 2 is the company’s top earner at an incredible $1,242,805,359. The latter also holds that top-earner title for Pixar by a wide margin, finishing with nearly $200,000 more in revenue than 2019’s Toy Story 4.
The sequel ranks as the 21st-highest-grossing film of all time as well, which is particularly impressive with its release coming 14 years after the first film.
Disney's New Animated Sequel Strategy
During Disney's 2023 Q1 Financial Results conference call in early February, the studio confirmed plans for Pixar to make sequels for three of its most successful franchises.
This included announcements for Toy Story 5, Frozen 3, and Zootopia 2, all of which have incredibly successful franchises and movies that have been released in the last decade or so.
Considering how popular both Incredibles movies still are and how it's already been five years since Incredibles 2 debuted in theaters, this superhero saga would be one that many want to see revisited sooner rather than later.
Pixar Needs a Hero
Simply put, both Disney and Pixar need a win from a theatrical standpoint after a few box-office disappointments over the last couple of years.
Forced into a minimal theatrical release, with the film debuting on Disney+ at the same time, Turning Red only earned about $20 million on a $175 million budget.
Lightyear and Strange World both suffered similar failures even being released in theaters in 2022, with Lightyear losing over $100 million and Strange World earning the worst Audience Score in Disney history.
Pixar Sequels Almost a Guaranteed Win
Diverting from the disappointments that Pixar's recent original films saw, the company's efforts on sequels in recent years were on the complete other end of the spectrum critically and financially.
Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4 both cleared $1 billion at the box office, as did 2016's Finding Dory (which debuted 13 years after its predecessor, Finding Nemo). Even the 2013 Monsters Inc prequel, Monsters University, earned nearly $750 million at the box office, outpacing 2001's original Monsters, Inc. by over $150 million.
Disney has learned that sequels are a safe bet, especially with so many of Pixar's earlier movies being so beloved amongst fans. There are even a couple of key examples from more recent memory that could serve as another indication of that fact.
Dreamworks' Puss in Boots: The Last Wish became one of the surprise hits of last year as an animated sequel, crossing $555 million in revenue. On top of that, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is quickly becoming 2023's biggest film thus far as it takes an already established property and earned massive success, becoming this year's first billion-dollar blockbuster.
Safe to say, Incredibles 3 would have a great shot at reaching those same heights.
Will Incredibles 3 Happen?
A few big names from the first two Incredibles movies have offered quotes on whether they think Incredibles 3 could happen.
Director Brad Bird confirmed with Entertainment Weekly in 2018 that there are storyboards and character designs he thinks are "really good," although he admitted that they could be used "in a different film" if the right opportunity came along:
"We storyboarded, and we designed characters, and they’re really good! Some of them were really funny and cool and explored certain things…You know, you never say never, because there might be an opportunity to use it. Maybe the idea shows up in a different film. There was an idea I had for an animated version of 'The Spirit' that I ended up using in 'The Iron Giant.' You never know how these things are going to get repurposed. There were a lot of ideas that we had on this film that could be [used]… whether it’s another 'Incredibles' film, or something else.”
Frozone/Lucius Best star Samuel L. Jackson wants to see more of how his character and Craig T. Nelson's Mr. Incredible (Bob Parr) developed their friendship and whether it came from them just meeting as heroes or if it was something different:
"That would be cool, to know why Lucius is this lovable uncle figure, and how long he and Bob have known each other and what kind of things did they get into? Did they meet because they were superheroes? Did they meet one night by accident? Or did they just meet naturally and come to find out, 'Oh, you’re a hero, too!'"
Producer John Walker even noted that he "wouldn’t ever rule...out" making a third Incredibles movie, although he made it clear how much would have to happen in order to make the movie a reality:
"I wouldn’t ever rule it out. And if past is prologue, it’ll be another 14 years — and a lot of people will probably need oxygen to make a third one."
Final Call on Incredibles 3
All things considered, it seems like a no-brainer for Disney and Pixar to consider developing Incredibles 3.
Almost all of Brad Bird's movies have been overwhelmingly successful in and out of animation, and the cast showed in Incredibles 2 that these characters still have a lot left in them for more adventures.
Fans have reacted quite positively to recent live-action sequels like Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water, and plenty of hype is already building for other follow-ups like Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
The Incredibles is about as safe of a bet as Disney and Pixar have, and with so many other sequels already confirmed for development, this powerful quartet should get strong consideration for a new addition to their own saga.
