Pixar has revealed behind-the-scenes changes for their upcoming film, Elio, following an eleven-year-old boy mistaken by aliens as Earth’s ambassador. The teaser for the film debuted in June 2023, but was delayed to March 2025. The movie follows an eleven-year-old boy who is mistaken by aliens as Earth’s ambassador.
Speaking with The Wrap, Pixar chief creative officer Pete Doctor revealed some of the behind-the-scenes changes for Elio. The movie will now be directed by Turning Red’s Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian, who directed the Pixar short Burrow. The project was originally set to be directed by Adrian Molina, the co-director of Coco, but Doctor says Molina has been moved off Elio and “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.”
Meanwhile, Zoe Saldaña will step into the role of Elio’s aunt Olga, a role that was previously set to be played by America Ferrera, who had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
With regard to Shi and Sharafian directing Elio, Doctor had this to say about them and what the two have brought to the film, “The two of them are really doing a fantastic job…they have both such respect for each other and a great working style that is working out really well…I can’t really even talk about it without giving away plot points, but I think they’ve made some major discoveries on him [Elio] that really helped the audience to connect and to move forward with the character into the second act, which is, course, where all the meat happens. Adrian had done such great work, finding the emotional core to the thing.”
Elio and Snow White, both starring Rachel Zegler, were delayed by a year to 2025 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. However, Elio’s delay was due to the amount of work needed to rework the film, as well as the strike delays. This level of change to a film’s story is not new for Pixar, but Elio marks the first time both names are credited as directors, rather than co-directors.
The film follows an eleven-year-old boy named Elio Solis who accidentally becomes the intergalactic Ambassador of planet Earth after being beamed up to the Communiverse by aliens for making contact. Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms and survive a series of formidable trials.
Pixar’s history of change is exemplified by the rework of Toy Story 2 and Ratatouille, both of which were released in 1999. Toy Story 2 was reworked nine months before its release, resulting in a chaotic turn around but becoming one of the best-animated movies of all time. Ratatouille, directed by Jan Pinkava, was reworked 18 months before its release, resulting in a critically acclaimed film and an Academy Award for Best Animated Film.
In 2010, Brenda Chapman was replaced by Mark Andrews as the director of Brave, a box office hit and Academy Award winner. However, the film was criticized for its exceptional trailers. Bob Peterson, who developed The Good Dinosaur, was removed from the film due to story issues, causing delays from May 30, 2014, to November 25, 2015. Peter Sohn was bumped from co-director to full director. Brave received mixed reviews and was Pixar’s first true box office bomb. The delay in Elio’s film may have influenced its future.
Elio is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on June 13, 2025 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was originally scheduled to be released on March 1, 2024, but in October 2023, the film was delayed to its current release date.
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