Coco 2 Confirms a Heart-Breaking Reunion Is Happening, And the Wait Just Got Longer
In the 2010s, Pixar leaned more on sequels than they had in years past, but they still found time for original films that were the studio’s bread and butter in the late ’90s and throughout the 2000s. One of Pixar’s biggest hits of the ’10s was Coco, which earned widespread critical acclaim (including an Oscar win for Best Animated Feature) and $822.4 million at the worldwide box office. Though the film tells a self-contained story that didn’t have any lingering threads by its conclusion, that kind of success meant Coco wasn’t going to stay a standalone work for long. Pixar has confirmed that Coco 2 is in the works, and now more details have been revealed.
During the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23, Pixar was on hand to share some information about Coco 2. The film is scheduled to premiere in 2029, but a specific date hasn’t been set yet. In terms of the plot, Miguel is now a teenager, and he’s going to go on another adventure in the Land of the Dead. Benjamin Bratt is returning to voice Ernesto de la Cruz, who embarks on a mission to get revenge on Miguel. Concept art was shown during the presentation, including an image of Miguel having a reunion with his dear Grandma Coco in the Land of the Dead. There was also a piece of the older Miguel walking down the street with Dante, the dog from the first film.
Coco 2 Should Be Worth the Long Wait
The original Coco released in 2017, meaning the sequel is arriving 12 long years later. That’s quite a lengthy gap between installments in a hit animated franchise (as a comparison, there have been seven Despicable Me/Minions movies in the last 16 years), but the extended wait is par for the course as far as Pixar is concerned. Rather than rush out follow-ups for the sake of quickly cashing in on a success, the studio likes to take their time to make sure they have a strong story in place. It’s a strategy that’s worked well for them; Finding Dory and Incredibles 2 arrived more than a decade after their respective predecessors and both were successful critically and commercially.
Based on what we’ve seen from Coco 2 so far, it has an excellent chance of continuing Pixar’s tradition of successful sequels. The time jump is perhaps the most interesting bit of the narrative thus far. The original Coco ended with Miguel exposing Ernesto de la Cruz as a criminal, forever tarnishing the world famous musician’s reputation. Ernesto has had a long time to plan his revenge, and it’ll be fascinating to see what his plan is for bringing Miguel back to the land of the dead. Ernesto is one of the most memorable antagonists in Pixar’s canon, transforming from friendly face to intimidating presence following the twist in Coco. He’s not someone who takes humiliation lightly, so he’ll be out to truly hurt Miguel.
On the flip side, it’s nice to see Grandma Coco making a return. Miguel’s relationship with Coco was a major component of the original film’s emotional core, so their reunion is all but guaranteed to be one of the sequel’s most poignant moments. Seeing the characters together again is a bittersweet reminder that Coco passed away at the end of the first movie; it’s sad that Miguel can’t be with his beloved great-grandmother in the realm of the living, but at least they will get some more time together. It’ll also be great to see Miguel spend more time with Héctor, his great-great-grandfather. Their dynamic in Coco put a new spin on Pixar’s tried and true buddy formula, and they should have some more entertaining interactions in the sequel.
As for the release date, the safest bet would probably be Thanksgiving weekend. That’s when the original debuted, and it achieved tremendous success, so it stands reason to believe Disney and Pixar will want to replicate that playbook as closely as possible. Hopefully, whenever Coco 2 arrives in theaters a few years from now, it’ll be worth the wait.
