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The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a feature this morning, interviewing Pixar Animation Studios insiders and revealing several of the studio's future plans. Among these is the development of a third "Monsters, Inc." film. It's important to note that this isn't a sequel to the prequel "Monsters University," but rather a direct follow-up to the original, referred to in the report as "Monsters, Inc. 3."
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Regarding original projects, the WSJ also mentioned two previously unannounced animated films from Pixar. One is a supernatural ghost story deeply inspired by "Asian mythology," set in a mystical market where "the living and the dead converge." Its working title is "Ono Ghost Market." The other is an untitled musical, deliberately designed to be "anti-Disney" in style, helmed by "Turning Red" director Domee Shi. This project marks Pixar's first-ever musical.
Two years ago, renowned entertainment journalist Daniel Richtman had already reported on Pixar's attempts to produce a musical. At the time, Richtman indicated the film's title was "DUCKS," and the protagonist was indeed a duck, though it's now uncertain if the story has changed.
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Three years ago, Pixar's current Chief Creative Officer, Pete Docter, publicly stated that Pixar needed more sequels to balance its finances, while also emphasizing that original works needed to be more broadly resonant. In the WSJ feature, it's noted that Docter is indeed seriously implementing this strategy, admitting he had previously over-encouraged his team to create deeply personal, autobiographical works like "Turning Red" and "Luca," which ultimately underperformed at the box office.
To curb the production of autobiographical projects, Docter even scrapped his own animated film, "Be Fri" (short for "best friend"), which had been in development for three years. The film's story was also autobiographical, inspired by a platonic breakup from Docter's teenage years. Reportedly, 50 people were involved in the film's development, and they were all reportedly shocked upon hearing the news of its cancellation.