For over a decade, fans have been asking Brad Bird if he was ever going to make a sequel to The Incredibles. And he finally has. But the writer/director has very strong thoughts on making sequels to his other movies, including his other Oscar-winning Pixar film, Ratatouille, and the iconic Iron Giant.
“You know, I feel like that story is told,” Bird told io9 in regards to Ratatouille. “I’m told I need to do an Iron Giant 2 and I’m told I need to remake everything that I’ve made and no one apparently wants anything new anymore. I’m a little at odds with society on that. I would like to do some new things.”
That’s an interesting thing to say, considering Bird just spent several years of his life making Incredibles 2, which is poised to become another huge hit for the filmmaker.
“This did [turn out well],” Bird said. “But you’re welcome to take a crack at a Ratatouille sequel. I feel like i’ve done my Ratatouille. I’ve done my Mission: Impossible and I’ve done my Iron Giant. And that’s that. I’m not mad about it but it seems like it’s the only thing that people want now is for you to repeat what you just did.”
However, Bird admits that there is a little bit of a silver lining when it comes to the public’s obsession with sequels.
“Well, it’s nice,” Bird continues. “It’s complimentary. But it kind of reminds me of when my boys were little and I would give them a push on the swing and they’d go ‘Again!’ It’s a sweet thing but it’s also, from an artist standpoint, it’s a little frustrating. Like what if I want to do a Western? Would there be any support for that idea? What if I wanted to do a musical? How about that? You know, it’s like—there are other things to do.”
So even though Bird did make a successful sequel in Incredibles 2 (and Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol), it seems very unlikely we’ll see more cooking rats in the future.
Incredibles 2 opens June 15. We’ll have more on the film and from Bird soon.