Fans of the underrated hit The Mitchells vs. the Machines are getting exciting news today! The animated adventure, produced by Sony and distributed by Netflix, was released in 2021, going on to secure an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature (losing to Encanto) and still holding onto a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Now, Variety has confirmed that The Mitchells vs. the Machines 2 is in the works, with Netflix set to again release the Sony movie per the two companies’ licensing agreement. This is a different deal than the one that led to the global phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters debuting on the streamer, as Netflix picked up The Mitchells vs. the Machines when it couldn’t be released theatrically due to the pandemic.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines head of story, Guillermo Martinez, is returning to co-direct alongside The Bad Guys 2‘s JP Sans, replacing the first installment’s directors, Michael Rianda and Jeff Rowe. Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin, a.k.a. the Molyneux sisters, are writing the script for Mitchells 2, which plans to begin production early next year.
It has not been confirmed if the original Mitchells cast will be returning, which included Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, and Michael Rianda, as well as many high-profile stars in smaller roles. The Mitchells vs. the Machines follows a suburban family on a road trip taking their daughter to college, which is upset by a robot apocalypse.
Mitchells 2 faces the major challenge of reviving the story, as the family had survived the apocalypse, repaired their relationships, and were living normal lives when we saw them last. While TheWrap reports that the sequel’s title is The Mitchells vs. the Mitchells, suggesting the family will turn on each other, advanced technology will hopefully still play a role to stay true to the first movie’s genre.
Netflix and Sony are currently negotiating a KPop Demon Hunters sequel, which is more neatly set up to have a continuation. However, Mitchells 2 will be coming at a time when it will be much more possible to win the awards that its predecessor missed out on, as Disney’s domination over the Best Animated Feature category has considerably weakened.
With KPop Demon Hunters all but guaranteed to take home the Oscar this coming year, we will be seeing the fourth year in a row with a non-Disney/Pixar win. The sequel to The Mitchells vs. the Machines still has to live up to the high bar set by the first movie, but if it manages to do so, it could dominate its own awards season in the next few years.
- Release Date
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April 22, 2021
- Runtime
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110 minutes
- Director
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Mike Rianda
- Writers
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Jeff Rowe, Mike Rianda
- Producers
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Christopher Miller, Kurt Albrecht, Phil Lord