Pixar is making a big change for the highly anticipated Incredibles 3. Peter Sohn, the director of the acclaimed animated films Elemental and The Good Dinosaur, will take the reins for the third entry in the commercially successful superhero series. This marks the first time franchise creator Brad Bird will not be in the director’s chair, though he will remain deeply involved as both a screenwriter and producer for the upcoming film.
The Incredibles franchise follows the extraordinary Parr family – Bob (Mr. Incredible), Helen (Elastigirl), and their three super-powered children – as they navigate suburban life after a government mandate forces them into hiding. The first two films, which collectively grossed $1.8 billion worldwide, were written and directed by Bird. While the specific plot details for the threequel are still under wraps, the core voice cast, including Craig T. Nelson (Bob Parr), Holly Hunter (Helen Parr), and Samuel L. Jackson (Frozone), are expected to return.
Bird’s shift from directing is reportedly due to his busy schedule, as he is currently in pre-production on Skydance’s Ray Gunn.
Peter Sohn is a longtime Pixar veteran with a significant history of collaboration with Brad Bird. Sohn has worked on every animated film Bird has directed, including both The Incredibles (2004) and Incredibles 2 (2018). Their connection goes back decades: Bird initially gave Sohn a summer job as an animation assistant on The Iron Giant when Sohn was a CalArts student. When Bird later joined Pixar in 2000 to work on the first Incredibles, Sohn was among the initial group of around 15 people he brought on board for its development.
Bird has openly praised Sohn’s multifaceted talent. In a 2023 interview, Bird said of Sohn, “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.”
One of Bird’s favorite scenes from the first Incredibles was animated by Sohn – a delicate moment where Bob Parr tells Helen, “I can’t lose you again. … I’m not strong enough,” followed by her kissing him. Bird reflected on this, stating, “Those kinds of scenes are really easy to do badly, because they can easily come off as artificial. And Pete did this wonderful kiss… That was a very delicate scene, and Pete did a fantastic job on it.”
Read more: ‘Elio’ Trailer: Domee Shi’s Sci-Fi Adventure Promises Intergalactic Chaos and Heart
Sohn’s most recent directorial effort, Elemental (2023), proved to be a strong box office performer, earning nearly $500 million globally and receiving an Oscar nomination for best animated feature. His experience with themes of cultural clash and connection in Elemental, drawn from his own immigrant background as the child of Korean immigrants, could bring a fresh perspective to the Parr family’s adventures.
Pixar is set to release Elio on June 20, before Incredibles 3 moves forward under Sohn’s direction, with no release date or additional cast yet announced.
