‘Monsters, Inc. 3’ May Be Coming to Theaters — New Report Reveals Pixar's Sequel Plans
A third Monsters, Inc. movie is in development at Pixar, according to The Wall Street Journal.
No release date has been announced. The studio hasn’t made any official statement, and the WSJ report is the only indication the project is in the works.
That bare-bones confirmation matters because it shows where Pixar is placing its bets during a franchise-heavy stretch that already includes Incredibles 3 and Coco 2.
What We Know and What We Don’t
The studio has not confirmed where in the franchise timeline the story will take place.
That gap matters, because it determines whether this film functions as another prequel, a direct sequel to the 2001 original, or something tied to the Disney+ series Monsters at Work.
One detail narrows the possibilities: this would be the first theatrical sequel to the original Monsters, Inc. The second franchise entry, Monsters University (2013), was a prequel showing how Mike and Sully first met in college.
A true sequel picking up after Boo’s return to the human world would be new territory for the franchise on the big screen.
The Boo Question Has Been Floating Since 2016
The conversation around a potential third film isn’t new. Nearly a decade before the WSJ report, director Pete Docter discussed the idea in a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Docter, who directed the original and now serves as Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, left the door open.
“You never say never — who knows what will happen?” he said of a potential sequel.
“We purposely went with a prequel for Monsters University because we didn’t want to answer some of the questions about what happens to Boo, and how does she grow up, and things like that,” he added at the time. “It would have to be really compelling, which is hopefully the benchmark for all of our sequels, anyway.”
That deliberate avoidance of Boo’s story is telling. Docter also revealed that a Boo-focused sequel was part of the earliest pitches for the franchise’s second film before being scrapped.
“Part of that idea was like a Peter Pan-type thing, where [Wendy] had been visited by Peter Pan as a kid and had sort of half-forgotten who he was,” Docter told EW in 2016.
Whether the new film revisits that concept or goes in an entirely different direction remains unknown.
The ‘Monsters Inc.’ Series Hasn’t Been Dormant
Even without a theatrical sequel, the Monsters, Inc. brand hasn’t been dormant. Monsters at Work premiered its first season on Disney+ in 2021, with Season 2 airing on Disney Channel in 2024.
John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprised their roles as Sully and Mike Wazowski, and the show introduced Ben Feldman as new character Tylor Tuskmon.
On the theme park side, the franchise has attractions at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, Magic Kingdom in Orlando, and Tokyo Disneyland. Plus, a full Monsters, Inc.-themed land is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, replacing the Muppet*Vision 3D area.The commercial track record
The original Monsters, Inc. (2001), starring Goodman and Crystal, had a budget of approximately $115 million and earned $579 million at the box office.
It received Oscar nominations for the first-ever Best Animated Feature award (it lost to Shrek), Best Original Score, and Best Sound Editing, and won Best Original Song for “If I Didn’t Have You” by Randy Newman.
Monsters University outperformed the original commercially, earning $743 million on a budget of approximately $200 million.
Where This Fits in Pixar’s Slate of Sequels
The sequel joins a pipeline that mixes franchise films with new originals. Incredibles 3 is expected in 2028. Coco 2, a sequel to the 2017 film, is expected in 2029.
On the original side, Ono Ghost Market is a new film inspired by Asian myths about supernatural marketplaces; it was originally developed as a streaming series before being reworked as a feature.
Pixar is also developing an untitled musical, its first ever, directed by Domee Shi (Turning Red). Shi also recently took over co-direction of Elio after Adrian Molina departed.
The franchise push comes as Pixar returned to box office strength with Hoppers, which was No. 1 at the domestic box office over the weekend with about $46 million in ticket sales, per The New York Times.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists.
