Wreck-It Ralph Sequel Officially Announced
The news officially broke yesterday that Disney are developing a sequel to their hit 2012 film Wreck-It Ralph! Rich Moore and Phil Johnston, the director and co-director of the film, were on Facebook Live yesterday with John C. Reilly (the voice of Ralph) making the announcement. Moore and Johnston both worked on the original film as director and co-writer respectively and have both recently finished in the same roles on Zootropolis.
The sequel was unofficially announced earlier this year by Reilly when he inadvertently revealed that he had signed on to reprise his role, a mishap that was jokingly referred to in the broadcast; “We are announcing Wreck-It Ralph? But I already announced that by accident,” said Reilly. “Yes, several times!” replied Moore.
First concept art
Skwigly was also on the case reporting all the way back in April 2014 that Henry Jackman, the composer on the original film said, “I believe that it is officially on the cards. I don’t know any more other than a story is indeed being written.”
For those who haven’t been following the gossip about the sequel, the Facebook live video teased first with Moore and Johnston in front of a brick wall backdrop, then followed with Reilly walking across the screen wearing Ralph hands. At that point we knew what was coming!
Moore and Johnston briefly referred to how they have been working on this since they finished the first film. In a press release they said, “from the moment we started working on the first Wreck-It Ralph, we knew there were so many possibilities with these characters. This time, Ralph’s wrecking wreaks havoc on the Web—as only he can do. Characters we loved in the first film are back and we are ecstatic to be working with them—and the actors who voice them—once again.”
So far Reilly and Sarah Silverman (Vanellope Von Schweetz) have both confirmed that they will reprise their voice roles, but we continue to wait to hear about the rest of the original cast.
Reilly said about his return to the role; “Ralph is a character very near and dear to my heart, I’m really looking forward to playing the big lug again. Making the first Wreck it Ralph was one of the most special experiences I’ve ever had and I’m really looking forward to bringing him back to life. So many kids I’ve met all over the world are excited to see him again too. They tell me all the time!”
Reilly excitedly revealed that in the sequel Ralph will leave the arcade and wreck the internet! “The world of the internet is the perfect place to send Ralph and Vanellope,” said Johnston. “The scope and scale are so vast and the possibilities for comedy are endless.”
The video was ended by Reilly doing the iconic, ‘I’m gonna wreck it!’ and punching through the styrofoam-brick wall with his Ralph hands to reveal a cheering crowd with models of the characters and balloons bouncing around the room.
The film has been announced as coming out in cinemas on March 9th 2018 (presumably in the US, – we shall have to wait for a UK date!) Theatrical releases of Disney sequels are not a common occurrence but as a fan myself I’m looking forward to returning to the big screen for this one. I’m not too surprised either as the first film did very well at the box office, earning $189 million in the US and just under $500 million worldwide, becoming the 12th-highest grossing film of 2012.
The animated feature Gigantic, originally announced as Disney’s March 9, 2018 release, has been put back to November 21, 2018.