Director Kelsey Mann has promised that Inside Out 2 will deliver an even bigger “emotional hit” than its predecessor. The Disney and Pixar film is gearing up for a prime summer release.
Speaking to Empire about the sequel, Holstein teased that the Belief System in Riley’s head will deliver an “emotional hit.” In fact, it’s one “that the last movie could not [deliver].”
“Now that Riley’s a teenager, she’s starting to develop her own set of beliefs,” Mann added. “What if we actually hear Riley say her beliefs in her own voice? If you hear her say, ‘I’m kind,’ you can hear [in] the performance how she feels about that. Or, ‘My parents are proud of me.’ On the flip-side, if there’s a belief that’s not so good, you can really hear the emotion of it.”
“It was beautiful,” Holstein said of the Belief System. “It was just gorgeous. And it made me feel something.
“Immediately, I was like, ‘There’s something I want to see at the beginning of this movie, and possibly the end of this movie, that tells me what the movie is’,” he continued. “So it was very inspirational for me.”
What is Inside Out 2 about?
After nearly a decade, Inside Out finally gets a sequel. The Disney-Pixar joint came out in 2015 and was a huge hit. The first film was directed by Peter Docter and grossed over $850 million at the box office.
Additionally, Inside Out garnered two Oscar nominations. It won Best Animated Feature and was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
The film follows a young girl, Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), who is dealing with her family’s move. This results in new emotions that she has to navigate. Among those emotions are Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). Richard Kind also starred in the film as Bing Bong.
In the sequel, Riley is now a teenager. As she deals with puberty and other teenage problems, new emotions arise. Poehler and Smith will return, but Hader and Kaling have both been recast. Additionally, a new emotion will be introduced, Anxiety (Maya Hawke).
Paul Walter Hauser and Ayo Edebiri have also been cast in new roles in the sequel.
Unlike its predecessor, Inside Out 2 won’t be premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. The first film premiered out of competition at Cannes in 2015. It was subsequently released in theaters the next month.
Kelsey Mann steps in as the director of the sequel. Meg LaFauve and Dave Holstein co-wrote the script. Mann began his career working for Cartoon Network.
His tenure with Pixar began in 2013 with Monsters University. Mann would subsequently work on the likes of Onward, Soul, Luca, and Turning Red.
Inside Out 2 will be released on June 14.
