8 Upcoming Movies That Could Save Failing Franchises

2) Cars 3

The franchise: Pixar’s name is almost always a guarantee of quality, but two outliers in their canon of great animated movies are Cars and Cars 2. They might be fun, family-friendly adventures, but the depth of character, intelligence and heart that marks out the studio’s best work is largely absent (which is surprising considering the films are the babies of studio founder John Lasseter). Cars 3 wasn’t particularly highly anticipated, then, until a recent teaser trailer got people talking.

The movie: The teaser gives a markedly different feel from the goofy antics of the previous two; cutting out the humour and focusing entirely on the shock of seeing Lightning McQueen crashing during a race. For any children who love the talking racing car it must be horrific. But for us adult fans, it gives us hope that the threequel will go deeper than the previous movies, presumably dealing with the retirement of McQueen as the new generation of racers comes along. This is backed up by a report that states the film will aim to teach kids about the sad side of getting older, which Pixar have previously done with aplomb in the likes of Up, Toy Story 3 and Inside Out.