Details about an alternate sequel to Disney and Pixar’s 2001 feature “Monsters, Inc.” have emerged from a recent interview with screenwriters Bob Hilgenberg and Rob Muir (“Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue”).
The beloved Pixar film turns 25 this year and did get a follow-up in the form of “Monsters University” in 2013, which serves as a prequel following a young Mike and Sulley.
It turns out, a proper sequel was in the works at one time with the two scribes having penned a script for a follow-up in 2004 which was titled “Monsters, Inc. 2: Lost in Scaradise”.
Speaking with The Wrap, they say their take would have jumped forward years and seen Mike (Billy Crystal) on the verge of walking down the altar, Sulley (John Goodman) would now be one of the top executives at Monsters Incorporated, and Boo would be much older:
Muir: “We stand by that script, we’re very proud of it. It’s one of those things where, when we were writing it, everything was falling into place. It was a labor of love and were very passionate about it. We wanted to make sure we stuck with the Pixar brand. Our goal was, when somebody read the script, to not know if we were influenced by Pixar or not.”
Hilgenberg: “It was really important for us to have Pixar read it and say, Wow, that’s where we would have taken it. We stand by it.”
It’s indicated the reason this version of the sequel never moved forward was due to growing tension between then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Pixar chief Steve Jobs over the terms of their partnership. That was resolved in 2006 after Bob Iger took over as Disney’s CEO and Pixar was fully acquired.
A third film in the series is in development.
