Everything We Know About Cars 3
The Cars franchise is back! Okay, so it’s not Toy Story or The Incredibles or even A Bug’s Life but still, who doesn’t want to catch up with Lightning McQueen and the gang as another adventure unfolds? Well, here’s everything that we know about Cars 3!
Plot
According to an interview with USA Today, director Brain Fee said that the film will focus on an older Lightning McQueen training to race in the Daytona 500. However, it’s a young-cars game and, aiding him in his quest to be the best, are two young co-stars, Cruz Ramirez, an energetic race technician and a young female Hispanic racer, whose voice artist hasn’t been announced yet, and Jackson Storm, the upcoming racer who represents every racer who has tried to knock McQueen off the winner’s rostrum.
“Cruz Ramirez is trying to figure out how this old dog can learn some new tricks,” says Cars 3 director Brian Fee. “Everyone can relate to feeling like someone is at their heels, that they might be a little outdated in something they used to be very good at, feeling an expiration date. And knowing you need someone to help you get a second chance.”
Here's a look at a cool piece of concept art featuring Ramirez
As for Storm, well, he’s a constant reminder to McQueen that while he’s not old, his career could be about to roll to a stop.
“Think of where he’d be in his career now in real time,” says Fee. “(McQueen) is not an old man, but he's one of the older cars on the circuit with new rookies coming in. People start to wonder and ask when he might retire.
“Jackson Storm is the face of these rookies who have come onto the scene,” says Fee. “And McQueen is in a position where his entire racing generation is being pushed out. But it’s too early to be shown the door right now.”
Production
Cars 3 has very much left the starting grid with the production process well underway. The meticulous planning that goes into a Pixar movie has so far only yielded animation on a few key scenes, or as Fee puts it:
“We’re still creating the blueprints on some rooms of this house, but we’re starting to paint in other rooms,” the director says. Others involved in the process are original director and very much the driving force (pun intended) behind Cars, John Lasseter.
“Brian was part of the original story team on Cars, so he really knows the DNA,” says Lasseter, now chief creative officer for Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and executive producer for Cars 3.
This is Fee’s first movie but he’s been a key figure in several Pixar movies including Wall-E, Ratatouille and several direct-to-video Disney movies. He was a story artist on Monsters University.
The script written by another Pixar vet, Daniel Gerson, who sadly passed away in February this year. He also worked on Monsters Inc. and Monsters University.
Gerson’s long-time writing partner, Robert L. Baird, also worked with him on the script.
Other returnees include composer Randy Newman, who confirmed to The Advertiser that he’ll once again provide music for the film.
The movie will stay within America, taking a tour of some of the country’s historical racing sites.
“This movie is a love letter to racing and the American way,” says Fee. “We’re inspired by the Americana you see traveling through the South where every small town has a dirt track.”
Cast
Coming back for another go around the track is Owen Wilson, who’ll once again be playing Lightning McQueen, and he’ll be joined by familiar characters from the original's Radiator Springs, including tow-truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), girlfriend Sally Carrera (Bonnie Hunt) and auto-body shop owner Ramone(Cheech Marin).
We’re still to find out who’ll be bringing both Cruz and Jackson to life.
Trailer
We’ve just had the first teaser trailer and boy, it looks dark. I mean, it looks like McQueen must hit the bottom before he races to glory again.
UPDATE
Here's the second, much lighter trailer focusing on the aftermath of Lightning's horror-smash
Release Date
Cars 3 is set to roar into cinemas in the US on June 16th 2017.
