The Incredibles, in addition to being one of the most revered animated releases of the 21st century, is undoubtedly Brad Bird’s brainchild, and it’s hard to imagine the first movie without his fingerprints all over it. Having been one of the most notable contributors to Pixar’s dominance in the 2010s, his writing for the ensemble superhero movie and Ratatouille shaped Pixar’s brand of crafting stories that resonated more with older viewers.
Although it’s hard to imagine the series moving forward without Bird at the helm, surprisingly, this will be the case for The Incredibles 3, which has a new director at its helm.
Brad Bird is stepping back from directing The Incredibles 3
With Pixar set to double down on sequels with the success of Inside Out 2, the next installment in The Incredibles franchise is picking up pace. In contrast to previous reports, which suggested Bird’s involvement as a director, for the threequel, his role will be confined to penning the screenplay and producing (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Although on first glance, this is reasonably a bit worrying, as it’s hard to imagine the series without Bird at the helm, Peter Sohn’s credentials in the realm of animation are nothing to scoff at.
With movies, including Elemental and The Good Dinosaur under his belt, even though Sohn doesn’t enjoy the same status as Bird and Pete Docter, his contributions to Pixar’s ascent in the medium are undeniable. Moreover, given the reception to The Incredibles 2, which, despite not being bad by any means, proved to be disappointing, Brad Bird‘s decision to step away from directing and have Sohn take the torch could lead to the IP’s resurgence.
Peter Sohn has the backing of Brad Bird
Even though it wasn’t until The Good Dinosaur that Sohn was finally given the chance to lead his own feature, the animator/filmmaker already proved to be a major asset for Pixar before he marked his directorial debut.
Moreover, Bird, who has reportedly been a mentor to Sohn since their initial days under Pixar, has nothing but admiration for the Elemental director’s apprehension of every part of the process.
Bird said (via The Ringer):
He’s a multi-talent. That’s one of the reasons that I was always interested in whatever he was doing. He is kind of insatiable. He wants to know about every part of the process, and he wants to be able to understand every part of the process and even do every part of the process, because it allows him to understand the beast.
While a few directors at Pixar have managed to attain Bird’s knack for adult-centric stories, considering Sohn is responsible for one of Bird’s favorite scenes in The Incredibles, this shift might bring something fresh to the table.
No release date for The Incredibles 3 has been made public.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
