Pixar Announces ‘Soul,’ Pete Docter’s New Film For 2020

Days before Toy Story 4 hits theaters worldwide, Disney-Pixar has announced Soul, its new original film scheduled for release on June 19, 2020.

Described as “a journey from the streets of New York City to the cosmic realms to discover the answers to life’s most important questions,” Soul will be directed by Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out) with Dana Murray (Lou) as producer.

Although no other plot details have been disclosed thus far, the film’s tagline points to an existential premise along the lines of the Oscar-winning Inside Out: “Ever wonder where your passion, your dreams and your interests come from? What is it that makes you… YOU?”

This is the second original film that Pixar will release next year. Last month, the studio released the first trailer for Onward, its first original film since 2017’s Coco, which will be released in theaters on March 6, 2020. Directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae, Onward is a fantastical tale about two teen elf brothers on a quest to “discover if there is still a little magic left out there.”

Speaking about Docter’s approach to developing projects at the studio, Toy Story 4 producer Mark Nielsen told The Hollywood Reporter last month that sequels were not part of the studio’s near future: “He’s really looking out for the new voices and really loading up the development pool. It’s all original films after [Toy Story 4] right now.”