'Coco 2' Officially Announced and Dated by Pixar

This weekend’s D23 Expo ramped up with a slew of teaser drops, including a sneak peek into a long-overdue animated sequel. There’s a handful of Pixar classics still begging for a follow-up; standout hits like Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, and even A Bug’s Life come to mind. Last year, former Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed development for the next installment in a beloved franchise. We now have our first glimpse of what that sequel looks like.

Coco 2 is finally happening, with co-directors Unkrich and Adrian Molina confirmed to helm the project. We’ve yet to receive casting details outside of Benjamin Bratt (Andor), who will return as Ernesto de la Cruz, Coco‘s surprise villain. Bratt teased his character has an ax to grind with Miguel in the sequel — “Ernesto de la Cruz is back for revenge, sending Miguel on an adventure back to the land of the dead. Proving fate has a sense of humor, Miguel must team up with a handsome superstar: me.” Ernesto was disgraced at the end of the original, so does that mean Coco 2 is his revenge arc?

Disney also unveiled concept art from the film depicting a teenage Miguel with his faithful dog, Dante. No updates yet on who will voice Miguel, but we’re hoping Anthony Gonzales reprises the part. Disney also confirmed a November 2029 release date for the sequel; the company previously confirmed The Incredibles 3 is also slated to hit theaters in 2028.

Unkrich first pitched the concept for Coco on the heels of Toy Story 3‘s breakout success. His initial story focused on an American child who learns about his Mexican heritage in the aftermath of his mother’s death. They later realized the story needed to focus on a Mexican child instead, but the initial draft failed to represent Mexican culture and heritage. The Pixar team repeatedly traveled to Mexico for research, and that’s how they were compelled to set the story on the traditional Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

Released in 2017, Coco revolves around 12-year-old Miguel, who dreams of becoming a musician despite his entire family’s generation-spanning ban on music. He’s accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead on the eve of Dia de los Muertos after violating a sacred tradition. There, he teams up with a trickster named Hector to find his great-great-grandfather so he can return to the land of the living.

Coco was a critical and box office hit, grossing $814.6 million against its $225 million budget. The film also boosted the studio’s reputation for compelling, culturally specific storytelling that appeals to a global audience. Coco won Best Animated Feature at the 2018 Academy Awards, and the film was widely praised as a return to form for Pixar after a string of animated sequels.