While much of this weekend’s headlines were reserved for Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney’s live-action animated remakes like The Little Mermaid, Pixar did offer up a few tidbits of their own this weekend during the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California.
As well as confirming that development is underway on an Inside Out sequel, the animation maestros also took the opportunity to unveil a first-look image and teaser poster for their next feature film release Elemental, featuring the two protagonists Ember and Wade.
Directed by Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur), Elemental will see Leah Lewis (The Half of It) and Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World Dominion) voicing the two leads, described as “an unlikely pair in a city where fire, water, land and air-residents live together. The fiery young woman and the go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common.”
“The idea [for Elemental] started with my parents,,” said Sohn as he introduced the project at D23. “As immigrants to the U.S. from Korea in the ’70s, they had no family, nothing. But they managed to create a life here in New York. And just like them, many people have left their people and families to a new land, with hopes and dreams, all mixing into one big salad bowl of cultures, languages and neighborhoods.”
Elemental is currently slated for a theatrical release on June 16th 2023.