Did you like The Wild Robot? The good news: there will be another one.
Less than a month after its release in theaters, the latest animated film from Dreamworks Animation (and the last film produced internally) is already in development. This morning at the Deadline Contenders event, director Chris Sanders confirmed that there are “definite plans for a sequel,” and that he will be back to lead the next adventure.
Based on the award-winning children’s book by Peter Brown in 2016, The Wild Robot focuses on Roz (Lupita Nyong’o), the helpful robot who ends up on an uninhabited island. As she adapts to her new environment, she ends up becoming a mother to an orphaned goose named Brightbill (Kate O’Connor) and forming friendships with the other island animals voiced by Cathy O’Hara, Pedro Pascal, and others. Before and after its release, the film received great reviews for its animation and story (and being a tearjerker), and currently has grossed $107.6 million worldwide.
After the original The Wild Robot book, there were sequels: The Wild Robot Escapes in 2017 and last year The Wild Robot Protects. Currently, it is unclear whether Brown will write more books after The Wild Robot Protects, but you can imagine that Dreamworks would want another franchise in its stable to join Trolls, Kung Fu Panda, and all the others. Considering the studio’s penchant for also turning their films into TV shows or holiday specials, we may end up seeing more of Roz and friends even further than that The Wild Robot 2, which currently does not have a release window.
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