"How to make it more lame than the second movie?": Fans roast Pixar for already planning ‘Inside Out 3’

The Inside Out franchise is far from done emotionally destroying you, and Pixar writer Dave Holstein reports that Inside Out 3 is already in the initial brainstorming stages. While you were still getting over the emotional whiplash of Inside Out 2, Pixar was already preparing a fresh crop of existential horror masquerading as family entertainment.

As expected, not everyone on the internet was sold. Some juicers were skeptical, worried that rushing the film could ruin the beloved franchise, and they begged Pixar to take a step back and think it through.

But, of course, the internet didn’t voice these concerns in a calm, reasonable way—they turned it into a comedy show with nonstop hilarious takes.

A user commented:

"How to make it more lame than second movie? 😆"

Inside Out 3, but it’s just two hours of waiting for a therapy appointment.

One user bluntly stated:

"Of course, this was going to happen given how much the 2nd made."

The only emotion left at Pixar is ‘Greed.’

Another user joked:

"I’ve got an idea: no."

Disney heard you and responded with, ‘Yes, actually.’

A user said:

"Oh depression gonna be the main character."

Depression is about to have a musical number.

One user went on to say:

"Introduction of Doupbt, Ghosting, and can't wait for Backstabbing."

Can’t wait for the scene where Ghosting just disappears mid-convo.

A comment read:

"Another remake slop here we go. Disney is so cooked."

They really running on sequel fumes now.

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Inside Out 3 is already in development

During a recent conversation at the 52nd Saturn Awards, Holstein affirmed that Pixar has begun tossing around ideas for Inside Out 3.

"Yeah, minimal," he said to The Direct.

“I mean, I would say that we're still enjoying the wave of fun, this second film. But I have no doubt that at some point a third, and hopefully, in my opinion, four through six, seven, eight, Inside Out should happen.”

The enthusiasm of Holstein implies that Riley's emotional journey is not yet done.

As per him, every movie has to "change the game" (come up with new ways to make grown-ups cry in public).

Inside Out 3 will allegedly explore Riley's next phase of life, i.e., Joy and sadness, and the crew is going to get another dose of an emotional rollercoaster.

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Pixar hasn't approved it yet

Before we begin overthinking what emotion Riley might open up next, there's one small catch—Pixar has not officially greenlit the film yet.

Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter has explained that they will not proceed unless they come up with a strong story.

During an interview with Fandango, he mentioned:

“We're in the same place we were after [Inside Out]. We're just like, “Okay, well if we were going to do something, what would it be?” And we're kind of just thinking of ideas. Who knows? I would love for it to feel as though out of this vast world we only saw like three percent and the rest of it is still out there.”

“So, there's a lot to explore, a lot of things that we played with in the first movie or the second movie that didn't work for story reasons — [they] didn't fit thematically — so we have a lot to play with.”

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Inside Out 2's billion-dollar success

Hollywood has a simple rule: If a film rakes in an obscene amount of cash, make another one.

Inside Out 2 grossed almost $1.7 billion globally. Even if the reviews were slightly less enthusiastic than the original, the numbers don't lie.

Inside Out 2 demonstrated that audiences are still deeply interested in Riley's emotional life. And Disney loves a good tentpole franchise.

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What's next for Riley?

Inside Out 3 has a clear path: the dreaded transition from high school to college.

Holstein hinted that Joy’s role will evolve as Riley matures, possibly exploring how emotions shift with age.

Maybe we’ll finally see an emotion named Regret or get an unexpected cameo from Imposter Syndrome.

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Inside Out’s legacy

The original Inside Out (2015) was a paradigm-shifter, taking in over $850 million and winning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

It took childhood feelings and made them fully formed characters, and everybody suddenly wondered if they'd ever actually worked through their own emotions before.

Inside Out 2 (2024) upped the emotional ante by adding new emotions and a healthy amount of puberty-induced craziness.

It spoke to people so deeply that it shot up to one of the highest-grossing films in Pixar's history.

Pixar has struck a universal chord: the experience that humans share in being an absolute emotional mess.