Amid the Pixar layoffs announced this week, it seems the Disney-owned studio will be taking fewer risks in the future. Next year's Gatto will be a test for a new 2D animation style that breaks away from Pixar's characteristic 3D realism, but the next movie with an absolute obligation to make bank will be Incredibles 3.
The last Incredibles, released in 2018, remains the Pixar's second-best selling film to date, taking $1.243 billion worldwide behind 2024's Inside Out 2 ($1.699 billion). The third installment will be expected to have similarly monumental appeal. While Toy Story 5 is racing towards the billion-dollar mark, Hoppers has failed to break even despite rave reviews and 2025's Elio lost millions.
But for many long-time Incredibles fans, there's one thing they want from the next sequel, and they're not going to get it.
When Incredibles 3 comes out in June 2028, a decade will have passed since the last movie. For many fans, that makes it obvious that the characters should be depicted as at least a little bit older.
One of the aspects that made Inside Out 2 and Toy Story 3 so successful was the characters' maturation, making them grow with their audience. But, like The Simpsons, Incredibles won't age. In 2028, Violet will remain a teenager, Dash in his pre teens and Jack-Jack will still be a baby.
Writer and executive producer Brad Bird, who also directed the first two movies, has ruled out the idea on the grounds that aging the characters would "lose the archetypical aspect" of each character's powers.
That's true. As a baby, Jack-Jack's abilities are an unknown quantity, while Dash's pre-teen hyperactivity explains his speed and Violet's teenage insecurity is why her powers involve invisibility and force fields.
"They were meant to represent parts of life that you go through," Brad explained in an interview with The Direct, adding: "Those are family archetypes, and aging them up doesn't help that at all.... People just keep thinking that aging them up is going to make them somehow hipper or cooler, or more like them, and it's like no, it won't."
Then what's the point of a third movie if it's just going to repeat the same story? Letting the characters age would create new family dynamics, raise the stakes, and open up fresh story possibilities. The family aspect is what made the first Incredibles so memorable. https://t.co/ByrO5nKHDBJuly 22, 2026
The decision is line with what happened in Incredibles 2. Despite an even bigger gap of 14 years, it picked up right where the first movie left of with its cliffhanger ending. But does that make sense with movies so far apart? It's not a TV series. Wouldn't it be interesting to know how those powers and personalities evolve as the characters age? Fans seem to think so.
"What's the point of a third movie if it's just going to repeat the same story?" one person complains on X
"Imagine Violet is in college and engaged to Tony or whatever, so her parents are dealing with letting her go," one fan suggests. "A great story could be about young adult Dash and Violet learning to be heroes, while Bob feels his abilities slipping and dealing with aging-out of being a hero," is another suggestion.
Alas, it seems such scenarios will have to remain the stuff of fan fiction for now.
How other traditional superhero narratives have treated time and age has varied. Immortal or mythic heroes like Thor and Wonder Woman logically show no visible aging, but human heroes like Batman, Spider-Man and Iron Man generally are shown to age naturally. Sometimes this is even emphasised as a story device, making showing them confronting an increased vulnerability with age.
Incredibles are grounded in human reality with their story about balancing family life with extraordinary gifts. That would naturally put them in the latter camp.
With a lot riding on Incredibles 3, it's natural that Pixar doesn't want to risk diluting the formula. On the other hand, not changing things up could also be a risk if it causes the franchise to peter out because the now-teenage or adult viewers of Incredibles 2 feel that the third outing is just more of the same.
What do you think? Should Incredibles 3 pick up right where the last film left off with Violet Parr postponing her date with Tony Rydinger to join a high-speed chase?
