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Though at first we weren’t sure what to make of it—an animated movie about a family whose road trip is overtaken by the robot apocalypse?—2021 Netflix release The Mitchells vs. the Machines soon won us over with its dazzling artwork, clever writing (including characters we instantly loved), and infectious energy. It emerged as one of the top animated films of the year (even scoring an Oscar nomination, though it lost to Encanto). So it’s not too surprising that a sequel is officially on the way.
Variety reports that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Lego Movie) will be back as executive producers, with Guillermo Martinez (who worked on the story for the first Mitchells film) and JP Sands (The Bad Guys 2) co-directing, and Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin (The Great North, Bob’s Burgers) co-writing the script.
Of particular interest is the fact that Sony Pictures Animation and Netflix currently have a very hot iron in the fire: KPop Demon Hunters, which has smashed streaming records (and music-chart records, for that matter). Variety notes that the companies will explore a “more collaborative creative partnership” for Mitchells 2, rather than the similar but separate arrangement that was used for both the first Mitchells and KPop, where Sony made the film and Netflix picked it up for streaming.
Fans will recall the first Mitchells starred Abbi Jacobson as Katie Mitchell, who reluctantly agrees to one last family road trip in the form of everyone (including the family’s pet pug, Mochi) piling into the car and helping drive her to film school. Forced bonding becomes something even more urgent when the robots of the world rebel (including cell phones and Furbys) and the Mitchells realize it’s up to them to band together and save the world.
Original director Michael Rianda (Gravity Falls) is back as an executive producer. So far there’s no word on who among the cast will return, but the first film featured Jacobson along with Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Beck Bennett, Fred Armisen, Eric Andre, and Olivia Colman.
There’s also no word on the story, but with AI fears increasingly infiltrating human existence as we know it, there’s definitely plenty of material to be skewered in The Mitchells vs. the Machines 2. Variety reports production will begin in 2026.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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