Larry the Cable Guy Would Be Happy to Return as Mater in Pixar’s Cars 4

Larry the Cable Guy would be “happy” to Git-R-Done and reprise his role as rusty tow truck Mater in a future Cars sequel, should Disney-Pixar put more gas in the tank. The comedian starred as the character in 2006’s Cars and its sequels, 2011’s Mater-focused Cars 2 and 2017’s Cars 3, opposite Lightning McQueen voice actor Owen Wilson. Larry the Cable Guy returned to voice the character in Radiator Springs Racers and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, two anchor attractions at the Cars Land themed area inside Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort, as well as multiple Cars Toons shorts.

“Well, I’ll tell you what I don’t know, but if you hear, let me know and I’ll call Owen,” Larry told Pop Culture when asked about a potential Cars 4. “Because that’s what we’re trying to figure out. You know what, I don’t know. That was a fun thing to do. Obviously it’s one of the only Pixar movies [that’s] got its own theme park. I just feel that they probably know that they’ve got this Disney thing up and going. You would think if you put in a billion-dollar theme park, you probably got to keep putting fuel in the tank. You would think. So I don’t know.”

In 2011, a year before Disney opened Cars Land, the Cars franchise generated global retail sales of $10 billion. On screen, the John Lasseter-directed Cars earned $461 million globally before Cars 2, shifting Mater into a starring role in an action-packed spy caper, earned $559 million. The third Cars, a passing of the torch sequel, raced to another $383 million worldwide.

Whether or not Pixar gears up for a fourth Cars movie, “I am extremely fortunate, blessed, and happy to be able to be Mater and do such a fun, iconic character,” Larry said. “And if they don’t do another one, I am extremely happy that I was able to do that.”

“And if they do do it, then we’ll do another one and I’ll be happy with that,” he added. “It was a part of my career that is really awesome ’cause I have kids. When I’m out of here and my kids are old, they can always hear [their dad’s] voice on some kind of a little cartoon. I mean it’s just a really neat thing, and I’m just very blessed and thankful that they asked me to do it.”

Pixar has not yet announced any feature film sequels since the release of last year’s Toy Story 4. Pixar president Jim Morris in 2016 noted the studio was developing all original films after Toy Story 4 and Brad Bird’s Incredibles 2, released in the summer of 2018.

“Most studios jump on doing a sequel as soon as they have a successful film, but our business model is a filmmaker model, and we don’t make a sequel unless the director of the original film has an idea that they like and are willing to go forward on,” Morris told Entertainment Weekly in 2016. “A sequel in some regards is even harder [than the original] because you’ve got this defined world which, on the one hand, is a leg up, and on the other hand has expectations that you can’t disappoint on.”

In March, Pixar released original movie Onward, starring Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, and has the Pete Docter-directed Soul currently scheduled to open June 19. Future films that have not been revealed are dated for June 18, 2021, March 11 and June 17, 2022, and June 16, 2023.

Monsters, Inc. stars John Goodman and Billy Crystal will reprise their roles as Sulley and Mike Wazowski, respectively, in the Monsters at Work CG-animated series now in the works exclusively for the Disney+ streaming service.