BREAKING: CARS 3 and INCREDIBLES 2 Directors Announced [UPDATED]

Oh My Disney, a Disney blog that runs entertaining fun articles on anything and everything Disney related, ran a post on 8 Pixarians to Follow on Twitter, announcing the official directors for Pixar's upcoming features, Cars 3 and The Incredibles 2. If you're like me and have thought through which directors seem to make the most sense for the upcoming films, you wouldn't be surprised to know that none other than Monsters University director Dan Scanlon (Cars 3) and The Incredibles and Ratatouille director Brad Bird (The Incredibles 2) have been officially announced as the shepherds of the upcoming sequels. Check out my thoughts on the directors announcement after the break!

"UPDATE: Disney has reached out to let us know that its blog has made an error, and that Scanlon is not directing Cars 3. No director has been announced for the Pixar sequel. Original story follows."- Slashfilm

Starting with the more obvious choice, Brad Bird (who is one of the most prominent figures on Pixar's Brain Trust) is the perfect shepherd for the sequel to the wildly successful and intensely beloved The Incredibles. Having already been announced as the writer for The Incredibles 2, Bird brings with him both storytelling prowess and love for his original conception that no other director could bring. the news of his directing skills being brought on to the 2019 sequel to The Incredibles is both exciting and comforting. 

Regarding Dan Scanlon shepherding Cars 3 as the 2017 feature's director, I feel very confident that the Monsters University director will do a fantastic job in reviving the Cars franchise. Acquiring both the skills in bringing beloved and established characters from a previous film (i.e. Monsters Inc.) to the screen in Monsters University, as well as dabbling previously in the Cars universe with his first directorial debut in the Cars short film Mater and the Ghost Light, Scanlon has always seemed the right leader for the third installment in the Cars franchise. While many, including myself, are skeptical of how well Cars 3 will be perceived by audiences as the Cars franchise is widely regarded as the step-sibling to Pixar's greater feats, I have confidence that Scanlon will help bring Cars 3 back from the looming and ever-present shadow of Cars 2.

What's most interesting about the news of Dan Scanlon being brought on as the director of Cars 3 is that Pixar President Jim Morris was recently interviewed regarding Pixar's upcoming slate, and specifically noted that Scanlon is working on an original film.  While this news development seems to nullify Jim Morris' previous statement, I believe that Scanlon may still be working on an original film, but we'll see his next project come to fruition sometime after Cars 3 opens in June of 2017. While his original project may seem like a ways down the road, it is nice to know that the creativity juices are flowing within Scanlon, and hopefully we'll see the sparks of some of his original ideas in his next feature directorial feat with Cars 3!