Disney laid out its animation roadmap for 2028 this week, scheduling Lilo & Stitch 2 for May 26 and Incredibles 3 for June 16. That's two major franchise sequels in three weeks, which tells you everything about Disney's current strategy: when in doubt, mine the IP catalog.
Let's start with Incredibles 3, which at least has earned some benefit of the doubt. Brad Bird delivered two excellent films about a superhero family grappling with domesticity, bureaucracy, and what it means to be special in a world that resents exceptionalism. The Incredibles (2004) was Pixar at its peak; Incredibles 2 (2018) was... fine, mostly coasting on the goodwill of the first. Whether Bird has anything new to say after a 10-year gap remains to be seen.
Lilo & Stitch 2, on the other hand, feels more cynical. The original 2002 film was a quirky, heartfelt outlier in the Disney canon - small-scale, emotionally raw, culturally specific to Hawaii. It's already been sequel-ized to death via direct-to-video releases and the upcoming live-action remake. Do we need another theatrical sequel? Disney clearly thinks the IP still has juice, but I'm skeptical.
The scheduling itself is revealing: Disney is confident enough in both films to release them in the same summer, competing for the same family audiences. This isn't about giving these projects room to breathe - it's about maintaining quarterly revenue targets through franchise exploitation. Toy Story, Frozen, Incredibles, Lilo & Stitch - the well is deep, and Disney is going to keep going back until audiences stop showing up.
The frustrating part? Bird has proven he can deliver when given creative freedom. If Incredibles 3 is just another corporate-mandated sequel rather than a story he's burning to tell, we'll all feel it. And will either justify its existence or join the pile of unnecessary sequels nobody remembers.
