Even though Onward released just a week ago, Pixar still has another major project up their sleeves for 2020. Their next major film, Soul, will be directed by Inside Out director Pete Doctor and release in the summer of 2020. Soul‘s first trailer was released last November and, given the nature of Pixar films, it’s not surprising that a new trailer for their next project would come out in the wake of their current release.
The trailer starts out by introducing our main character, Joe Gardner (Jamie Fox). Joe is a music teacher who gets an opportunity to perform at a Jazz show and things are looking up for him….. at least until a freak accident where he falls into a sewer hole, causing his soul to be transported into what seems to be the afterlife. In a fit of panic he escapes, only to end up in a place known as “the Great Before” where new soul learn about their personalities before heading to Earth. There, he teams up with another soul known as 22 (Tina Fey) as they make an attempt to get Joe back into the real world, where his body is still alive, but in critical health. This leads to a big adventure with some abstract set pieces and self discovery moments where Joe looks back on his life.
Soul looks to bring back a ton of Pixar’s trademark charm and magic. It seems to be a mix of Inside Out‘s more abstract and stylized look with a ton of 2D animation, as well as afterlife themes similar to Coco. Considering this is Pete Doctor, who has given us a ton of great Pixar movies before, Soul looks to be another potential hit for one of the most prestigious animation studios out there.
Soul is set for release June 19th 2020. Watch the full trailer below: