Incredibles 2 writer-director Brad Bird doesn’t want to mix Disney-Pixar with Disney-owned Marvel Studios.
Asked by host Scott Mantz about seeing the Incredibles crossover with Marvel’s Avengers during a live Q&A presented by IMAX and AMC, Bird said, “How about we keep these universe separate?”
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“And friendly! Friendly relations across the galaxy, we wish them well, they wish us well,” Bird said.
“But to me, it’s like you have Thanksgiving — you have all these great components to a meal — there’s inevitably the guy who stirs it all together into a mush. And then eats it. And I always go, ‘eeugh.’ Individually, all these things are great! Mushed together, ‘eeugh.’ So I just like them separate and equal and happiness to all.”
Bird previously told Fandango he’s heard of musings of a potential cross-pollinating of universes, but said he was never approached about implementing Marvel characters into the Incredibles universe.
“I’ve heard it discussed, not with me in particular, but I’ve heard it sort of thrown around a little bit,” Bird said.
“But at Pixar we’ve always felt like Marvel is Marvel, and Pixar is Pixar, and Lucasfilm is Lucasfilm. And they serve everyone better, including Disney, if they’re separate. If you start crossing them too much it’s like when you blend too many colors together, it starts turning into mud. So, that may make a marketing guy’s mouth water but I don’t think it makes artists excited.”
The director also said the explosion of superhero movies in the 14 years since The Incredibles had no influence on the super sequel.
“I think that if you start getting too inside with it, you’re not focusing on what you should focus on, which is the characters in the story,” Bird said.
“So, I just kind of went, ‘Okay, I’m in this little Incredibles universe.’ And that’s where I’m gonna stay. I’m not gonna have our characters commenting on DC or Marvel characters. They’re kind of in their own universe, and that’s the way I like it.”
In Incredibles 2, Helen Parr (Holly Hunter) is called on to lead a campaign to bring Supers back, while husband Bob (Craig T. Nelson) navigates the day-to-day heroics of “normal” life at home with Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner) and baby Jack-Jack, whose superpowers are about to be discovered.
Their mission is derailed when a new villain emerges with a brilliant and dangerous plot that threatens everything. But the Parrs don’t shy away from a challenge, especially with Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) by their side.
Incredibles 2 opens June 15.