“We like to snorkel and he likes doing whatever we are doing with us. So I thought, ‘let’s figure out a way to let him snorkel with us.’”
If you were a kid in 2001, you probably remember the first time you watched Boo toddle through Monstropolis, mispronouncing “Mike Wazowski” and melting the heart of a giant blue furball named Sully.
Now, as a parent, you might get to share something special with your own little ones: Pixar is reportedly developing a third Monsters, Inc. film.
The news was reported by The Wall Street Journal. The studio hasn’t made any official statement — no release date, no plot details, no confirmed cast.
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But for those of us who grew up alongside Boo, the prospect alone stirs something deep.
So What Happened to Boo?
No release date has been announced, and the studio has not confirmed where in the franchise timeline the story will take place. But if this turns out to be a true sequel to the 2001 original — and not another prequel — it would be the franchise’s first.
Monsters University (2013) took us backward in time to show how Mike and Sully first met in college, deliberately sidestepping the question of what became of Boo after that final closet door scene.
That choice was intentional. Director Pete Docter explained why in a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“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,” Docter said. “It would have to be really compelling, which is hopefully the benchmark for all of our sequels, anyway.”
Docter directed the original Monsters, Inc. and now serves as Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer. He wasn’t going to rush Boo’s story.
The Peter Pan Pitch That Hits Different Now
What Docter shared next in that same 2016 interview might resonate with you even more now than it would have a decade ago.
He revealed that a Boo-focused sequel was actually part of the earliest pitches for a follow-up film, though that version was 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 Entertainment Weekly.
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Picture it: a grown-up Boo, now possibly an adult with only hazy, dreamlike memories of a giant furry monster who once made her laugh. If you’re a millennial parent, this premise practically mirrors your own life.
You were the kid who fell in love with these characters, and the magic of that experience may feel like something you half-remember from another lifetime. A story about reconnecting with that wonder, about proving the magic was real?
That’s not a kids’ movie. That’s a movie for us.
“You never say never — who knows what will happen?” Docter said of a potential sequel at the time.
That 2016 interview came nearly a decade ago, when Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2 were still several years from release and Monsters, Inc. was celebrating its 15th anniversary.
Plenty to Watch and Do While You Wait
The good news is there’s actually quite a bit of Monsters, Inc. content to share with your kids right now.
The TV series 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.
For theme park families, Monsters, Inc. attractions currently exist at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, Magic Kingdom in Orlando, and Tokyo Disneyland.
And if you’re planning a future trip, a full Monsters, Inc.-themed land is coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, replacing the Muppet*Vision 3D area.
Pixar Has a Packed Slate Ahead
This news arrives as Pixar rides a wave of momentum. The studio’s newest film, Hoppers, was No. 1 at the domestic box office over the weekend, with about $46 million in ticket sales, per The New York Times.
Incredibles 3 is expected in theaters in 2028, with Coco 2 expected in 2029.
The studio is also developing Ono Ghost Market, a new original film inspired by Asian myths about supernatural marketplaces that was originally developed as a streaming series before being reworked as a feature.
Pixar also has an untitled musical in development — the studio’s first ever — directed by Domee Shi, who also directed Turning Red. Shi recently took over co-direction of Elio after Adrian Molina departed.
What We Still Don’t Know
The WSJ report is currently the only indication that a new Monsters, Inc. film is in the works. The studio has not confirmed where in the franchise timeline the story will take place, so we don’t yet know for certain whether this will be the Boo-focused sequel so many of us have hoped for.
A quick refresher on the original: Monsters, Inc. told the story of two monsters who help return a human girl, “Boo,” to the human world.
Made on a budget of about $115 million, it earned $579 million at the box office.
The film received Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature (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, the 2013 prequel, had a budget of about $200 million and earned $743 million — a bigger hit than the original.
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If you grew up watching Boo giggle her way through Monstropolis, and you now have a little one who lights up at the sound of “Kitty!” — tonight might be a good night to cuddle up on the couch and press play on the movie that started it all.
