Pixar May Be Developing Cars 4, but Is That Really Such a Good Idea?

D23 Brazil seemed to let it slip that Pixar could soon announce the next installment of the Cars franchise, Cars 4. According to attendees, an official survey asking attendees what project they were most excited for leaked the news. But is there any actual demand for another movie or is this just another nostalgia cash grab? At the box office, the first three Cars films grossed a combined $1.4 billion.

Cars creative director Jay Ward explained how the introduction of DVDs really set Cars on an upwards trajectory with no end in sight. “It became so much bigger than we expected,” he said during the 2023 Porsche Rennsport Reunion Event. “It likes on and everyday a new child sees It for the first time, which we did not expect. The interesting thing was that Cars came out in 2006 and this is when DVDs were quite popular. It was popular theatrically when it came out, but it grew more popular. Throughout the end of the year and into the next year, more and more people saw it.”

Compared to the original Cars and the subsequent release, the third movie brought in significantly less profit. This could be attributed to a number of things, including the massive development times between releases. The first two were released five years apart while Cars 2 and 3 had six years between them.

Since 2006, Disney/Pixar has released tons of Cars themed merchandise that has pocketed them more money than ticket sales ever have. With over $10 billion in sales within the first five years, it quickly became the second most profitable of all time, second only to Star Wars. Most recently, a leak revealed a video game collaboration between the franchise and Fortnite.

In early 2025, several new Cars attractions will break ground at Magic Kingdom, as announced at this year’s D23. It wouldn’t be the first Cars themed attraction at the Disney parks — Disneyland has a whole area dedicated to buzzing Radiator Springs while in Disneyland Paris, guests cruise along Route 66. This new ride reimagines things a bit, but it opening alongside a new Cars film could certainly lead to a renewed interest.

What Would Cars 4 Even Be About?

Cars 3 was centered around it being Lightning McQueen’s “final” curtain call. He trained with Cruz Ramirez (voiced by Cristela Alonzo) at the Rust-eze Racing Center. Before her racing career began, she was helping train the next generation. With McQueen’s encouragement, she replaced him in his big return race at the Florida 500. The fourth film would likely focus on her racing career with McQueen as her crew chief. He guided her to championship victories in 2017, 2018 and 2021.