“Incredibles 3” Is a Better Pixar Sequel Idea Than “Toy Story 5”

It is obvious that the Walt Disney Company has been struggling on a creative level for the past decade at this point, shoveling out horrible movie ideas that nobody cares about while treating the “good stuff” they have in poor taste.

Modern Disney has a horrible problem with creativity and sequels. Just recently they announced a slate of movie sequels to existing properties that have audiences scratching their heads.

“Moana 2” ... huh? “Zootopia 2” ... ummm? “Frozen 3 and 4” ... why? “Cars 4” ... because there was not enough already? “Toy Story 5” ... what were you thinking?

At least out of the latter three, “Zootopia 2” actually has some leeway in story potential, but nobody asked for more “Frozen” movies, and “Toy Story 5” was the worst idea on the list.

First off, the "Toy Story" series has already ended... twice. How many times do we really need to go back to the well when there is no water in it to begin with?

The toys parted with Andy to begin new adventures with a younger owner, which beautifully ended the initial trilogy, before separating Woody with the rest of the gang in what was supposed to be the final entry.

But of course, all good things are never meant to end anymore, and the cash money must keep a’ flowing.

A non-toy/Tim Allen "Lightyear" movie was released, focusing on the fictional astronaut that inspired the toy... even though PIXAR already did that in the early 2000s in a much better and respectable fashion.

Then, "Lightyear" bombed (probably because it was a movie that nobody wanted to see) and Disney’s grand idea instead of just letting a series rest, was to hit the dead horse again and make more movies.

You cannot end a series when it already has ended twice. The first time was perfect, and even the second time ended with mixed results.

Modern Disney does not really understand the needs of the audience in this case, and they are looking in all the wrong places when it comes to story potential.

If Disney-PIXAR genuinely wanted to make a sequel to one of their properties, then they should be looking towards doing "Incredibles 3" instead of "Cars 4" or "Toy Story 5"

Sure, superhero fatigue is running rampant right now, but at least finishing off "The Incredibles" adventures is a better idea than most at this point.

For one, every movie has always ended with a cliffhanger, which still leaves the door open for "The Incredibles 3."

"Cars" and "Toy Story" haven’t ended with cliffhangers, though, which is partially why fourth-and-fifth entries are a horrible idea.

Not to mention, after the events of "Incredibles 2," there are a few potential ideas to explore in a final entry.

Jack-Jack could fully unlock his full power set and true potential since he’s the most powerful member of the entire superfamily.

And now that superheroes are legal again, the third movie could explore the world’s reaction to superheroes coming into the fold again.

There would obviously be many people in favor, but then there would be those opposed to the fact that super-beings exist to begin with.

Not to mention, if there’s a team of superheroes, then why wouldn’t there be a team of supervillains to counter them?

MARVEL Comics had the Dark Avengers (led by Norman Osborn) as well as the Frightening Four, so why can’t the Incredibles have a counter to that?

Fighting off a team of supervillains would be an interesting aspect of the third movie, but Disney probably wouldn’t bother with such a good idea.

Or... Mr. Incredible could encounter something or someone from his distant past that now comes back to haunt him and harm his family, adding a stake that determines the Incredibles’ very future.

And who knows, maybe this past enemy is the one now in charge of the supervillain team. This would make Mr. Incredible’s story more personal and over-arching, revealing the reasons why he became a superhero in the first place.

Now, it’s unlikely that anybody will die in the movie (especially the baby), and it’s unlikely that Disney-PIXAR would take a risk killing off one of the parents or even Syndrome. Maybe that’s for the better.

It’s also unlikely that, especially given the ages of the three kids, the movie would take a "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" route and have the characters go their separate ways. That would also not be great, because that would encourage Disney to make unwanted spinoffs on Disney Plus.

Thankfully, it is also very unlikely that "The Incredibles 3" would take a time travel or multiverse route, because enough superhero movies have done that already, and mostly in poor taste.

If "The Incredibles" were to end as a series, then maybe the third entry would conclude without a cliffhanger and provide closure as a trilogy.

Closure is good for projects that were left unfinished, and it provides the audience with satisfaction that they have a finished product. That is assuming "Incredibles 3" does not end with another cliffhanger, which would be an excuse to make more content.

Besides, the time to do a third "Incredibles" movie would be now, because a lot of the main actors are already aging out. Craig T. Nelson obviously will not be around forever, and he is already in his 60s, so it would be better to wrap up the "Incredibles" trilogy now when Disney-PIXAR has the chance.

That, and the actor for Dash was already replaced for "Incredibles 2" since the other voice actor aged out of the role. If the company were smart, they would scrap projects like "Toy Story 5" and "Cars 4" and commit to "The Incredibles."

But then Disney decided to milk to death other properties that didn’t need additional installments. It makes one wonder how "Inside Out 2" will fare this summer.

Logan M. Sharp is a fourth-year majoring in film production. To contact him, please email lxs5590@psu.edu.