Elio was announced back at the D23 Expo in 2022. At the time, it was going to be directed by Adrian Molin (Coco).
It was then revealed that Domee Shi of Turning Red and Madeline Sharafian of Burrow would now be directing Elio. In an exclusive with TheWrap, Pete Docter told them that Molina “was taken on to a priority project that we’re not ready to talk about yet, but it’s very exciting and he’s excited about it as well,” even though he is no longer directing Elio.
Now it may be too early to speculate but a priority project for Pixar could perhaps be a film from the world of Coco? The film has only risen in popularity in recent years and Disney has made a bigger push for the property in its parks and cruises. I could see it happening as Pixar will likely have to do an originals to sequels/spinoffs ratio for the coming years.
A while back it was reported that Domee Shi was expected to do an original film at Pixar but it’s unclear if her taking the reigns on Elio has delayed or altered those plans.
During the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23, a new teaser was shown for Elio that was much stronger than the one in 2022. It felt less Lightyear this time around and Elio felt a tad more fleshed out.
Docter said the pairing of Shi/Sharafian has been working out well for them. Docter said the delay from 2024 to 2025 was in large part due to the actors strike. The other big change in Elio is that America Ferrera was set to voice Elio’s mom but had to depart the project due to scheduling conflicts. Now Zoe Saldana will voice Elio’s aunt. Although I’m sad we’re not going to get an America Ferrera pump-up monologue in Elio, I can’t complain as if you’re going to make a replacement bringing in future Disney Legend Zoe Saldana works.
Docter then teased the emotional core of the film to TheWrap:
“I do feel like ‘Inside Out 2’ really hit because we were able to talk about anxiety in a way that really resonated with audiences. And I think the core of this film that Maddie and Domee have really found has to do with the feelings we all sensed a lot of times, that we’re in this big world full of people, but we’re alone. But we don’t have to be. And that’s really the core of the film, and it’s what makes me really excited about it, because I think it has a potential to really speak to audiences in a way that they’re going through a lot of this, as we all are in the world right now.”
The film is about Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, who gets beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization that mistakes him for Earth’s leader. Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Brad Garrett, and Jameela Jamil lend their voices to Elio.
Elio releases in theaters on June 13, 2025.
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Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
