What Do We Know About ‘Soul,’ Pixar’s Latest Original Film?

Disney and Pixar surprised and delighted fans on Wednesday with the unveiling of "Soul," the lauded animation house’s newest original film and the second one they will release in 2020. Here’s a breakdown of what we know about the new adventure.

What is it about?

As can be characteristic of Pixar films when they are first announced, plot and character details for "Soul" are almost non-existent. The official synopsis, per Deadline, isn’t much help: “Ever wonder where your passion, your dreams and your interests come from? What is it that makes you … you?” The only other information offered is that the story will be set between New York City and “cosmic realms.”

So, it seems, in the broadest terms, Pixar is taking aim at the nature of humanity. Given the creative talent involved – which will be covered later – it might be fair to guess that the story could resemble the company’s 2015 release, “Inside Out,” which followed a group of personified emotions as the young girl they lived within dealt with a major move to the big city.

Who’s involved?

With no characters revealed as yet, there’s no information on the cast for “Soul.” What has been revealed is that Pixar veteran Pete Docter will be directing the film. Docter has built up one of the better filmographies at the studio over the years, having previously directed “Monsters Inc.,” “Up,” and “Inside Out. With these prior works in mind, audiences should expect boundless imagination and devastating emotional beats in equal measure.

When is it out?

“Soul” will be released on June 19, 2020, taking Pixar’s favored mid-June summer spot, which this year is held by “Toy Story 4.” Notably, it will be the studio's second release in 2020, following “Onward” in March. This will be the third year with two Pixar releases, after 2015 (“Inside Out” and “The Good Dinosaur”) and 2017 (“Cars 3” and “Coco”). Time will tell if this strategy works out, as in those previous cases, “The Good Dinosaur” and “Cars 3” ended up severely underperforming commercially.