Yes, it has been 14 years since The Incredibles took to the big screen and showed how a conventional family would juggle superpowers with suburban issues. But the characters haven't aged a day since we last saw them... mainly because director Brad Bird chose to start Incredibles 2 minutes after The Incredibles ended. How did that Pixar adventure end? The family was leaving Dash's track meet, when suddenly, a former nemesis -- The Underminer (John Ratzenberger) -- bursts out of the pavement and declares war. But, in an exclusive interview, Bird told CinemaBlend that this wasn't always his planned ending, and he explained:
I had another ending that was kind half baked, meaning not really finished in my mind. And I knew that the way to classically end a film is show people getting back in the saddle and riding off into the sunset. But I resisted a little. And finally, my head of story on that film, a guy named Mark Andrews, said, 'Come on, you know what you want!' And I was like, 'All right, all right.' So I thought, it's a way of showing they're together, and that they're going to face whatever obstacles as a group, now embracing their superpowers. So I thought that's what was important to communicate.I wouldn't have set it up so everyone wonders who The Underminer is. No, no. It was just, this will be a satisfying ending to this film. And if there's never another one, we get that the family's together, they're embracing their powers, and they're fighting whatever obstacle comes their way.
That makes sense. The ending that Brad Bird landed on conveyed the truth that The Incredibles were ready to move forward as a crime-fighting family. They all put their masks on. Even the usually hesitant Helen Parr (Holly Hunter) and baby Jack-Jack have masks, ready to leap into battle. And what you will find out in June is that Incredibles 2 shows you EXACTLY what happens next, as the sequel begins basically at this moment, and shows us the Parrs versus The Underminer!
But I like that Brad Bird debated how to end this movie before finally coming up with his conclusion. Because if Pixar had decided to never make an Incredibles sequel, then the ending of the original film truly would have stood on its own. And Bird confirms to us that he did not, in fact, set that ending up to be the starting point for his sequel. He had no interest in exploring The Underminer at the time. Now, however, he views it as the right place to start Incredibles 2.
Relive that original moment in the Incredibles ending, right here:
We don't know how Incredibles 2 will end. We do know how it begins, as we watched 22 minutes of the sequel's opening scenes when we trekked to San Francisco to visit Pixar. For more on the movie, hit up our Preview Page. For more on Upcoming Pixar Movies, bookmark our handy guide. And see Incredibles 2 when it opens in theaters near you on June 15.
