At first thought, it might not sound like it, but it took a very long time for Incredibles 2 to become a reality. In fact, 14 years have passed between the first and second movies–a lengthy period of time for any sequel.
By comparison, since the release of the first Incredibles, all three Cars movies have hit theaters–along with 10 other Pixar films. So what took so long? According to producer John Walker, the answer is simple. “We all had other movies to make and other things to do, and also life goes faster than you think,” he tells GameSpot.
That’s especially true of writer-director Brad Bird, who returns for the new film. Since the first Incredibles, he’s gone on to make movies like Ratatouille, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, and Tomorrowland. Still, this franchise was always at the back of his mind.
“That’s the most fun I ever had making a movie so far is the first Incredibles because it’s the first time I got to take something from a tiny seed to a finished film,” he says. “I always intended to return to it, and I dipped my toe-in, right before Mission Impossible, and we worked on the opening sequence, and then I got distracted.”
The ideas he wanted to explore in the sequel stretch all the way back to the first movie, though. The idea of switching the roles and having Elasti-girl go off on her own superhero adventure first occurred to Bird while promoting the original film. Of course, there was also that other thing. “I had the unexploded bomb of Jack-Jack, the family not knowing that he had the powers,” Bird teases. “I knew he was going to play a big role if we did another one.”
Thankfully, as producer Nicole Paradis Grindle tells us, “Pixar always had the door open.” So once the time was finally right, it was off to the races for the new film.
That said, while Bird and the movie’s producers were confident Incredibles 2 would eventually happen, the same can’t be said for the cast.
“When it hit like it did, then you expected the sequel to be right behind it,” Craig T. Nelson, who plays Mr. Incredible, says. “At least three, four years maybe. But about the fourth, fifth year you’re going, ‘Well, it’s not going to happen. There’s no scuttlebutt, no rumor. It’s done. Weird. Why not do this again?'”
Holly Hunter, the voice of Elasti-girl adds, “It definitely went over the sell-by date of most sequels, so I was surprised.” Thankfully, for her, at least, the movie’s fanbase never truly went away. “My experience was that because people continued to come up to me over those 14 years and say ‘Hi, I love The Incredibles,'” she admits.”The movie feels very much in the public consciousness right now.”
That’s exactly where it belongs. While there’s been a glut of superhero movies over the years, the newest Pixar movie is striving to be something more and, based on GameSpot’s Incredibles 2 review, it might have just achieved that. You can find out for yourself when it arrives in theaters on June 15.