‘Iron Giant’ Director Brad Bird Reveals Why There Was Never a Sequel

In the 19 years since The Iron Giant was released in theaters, Brad Bird’s animated film has become a bit of a cult classic, gaining an enormous audience after its initial debut. Given the deeply-rooted love for the film, and the culture of sequels that the film industry exists in now, many wonder why there hasn’t ever been another Iron Giant.

According to Bird, the answer is pretty simple. A sequel to The Iron Giant just isn’t all that necessary.

This week, a fan on Twitter reached out to Bird and asked why an Iron Giant sequel had never been put into production.

“Two simple answers,” Bird replied. “1) On its original release, the film was a financial flop. 2) There’s no need. The first one tells the story I set out to tell. Some stories actually end with THE END.”

Bird has long been against making unnecessary sequels to movies, especially when the initial film has a conclusion. This is why Bird only made a sequel to one of his movies, The Incredibles, and even then he waited more than a decade to make sure he had a story he wanted to tell. In 2011, Bird helmed the fourth film in the Mission: Impossible series, but he was adamant that he only wanted to direct one.

During the press tour for Incredibles 2, which was released by Disney/Pixar earlier this summer, Bird was asked about making sequels to Iron Giant and Ratatouille. As expected, he shot down both notions, concluding that the stories of those films were over and that there was no need for him to revisit them.

Fortunately, Bird has yet to rule out a third Incredibles movie, so it seems as though he may try to complete the superhero trilogy at some point in his career. Then again, Bird has never exactly been one to do what was expected, so we’ll all just have to wait and see.

Are you disappointed that there was never an Iron Giant sequel? Or are you glad that the movie was able to stand on its own? Let us know your thoughts by dropping a line in the comments.