Original Pixar Film 'Soul' Arrives In 2020, Read The Official Synopsis

Pixar has made some serious money with its sequels lately – Finding Dory was a box office smash, The Incredibles 2 had the biggest opening weekend of any animated movie ever, and Toy Story 4 is poised to beat that record – but the studio has two original films in a row coming out next year. We've already seen a teaser trailer for the first one, which is an elf story called Onward that stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt.

Now we know a bit more about the second one. It's called Soul, and it arrives in theaters one year from today. Check out the official synopsis below.

Soul is the newest film from director Pete Docter, who's been with Pixar since the beginning and now serves as Pixar's Chief Creative Officer, replacing the ousted John Lasseter. Here's the film's official synopsis:

Ever wonder where your passion, your dreams and your interests come from? What is it that makes you... YOU? In 2020, Pixar Animation Studios takes you on a journey from the streets of New York City to the cosmic realms to discover the answers to life's most important questions.

Docter is a two-time Oscar winner and the director of films like Monsters, Inc., Up, and Inside Out, the latter of which is arguably in the top three movies Pixar has ever made. And while it's unclear if whether we'll ever see an official sequel to Inside Out, Soul sounds very much like a spiritual sequel that continues the studio's existential exploration of the human condition. The film's description sounds just vague enough to leave just a tiny bit of room for concern about its story, but Docter is such an emotionally attuned filmmaker that I'd bet on this becoming another instant classic. Dana Murray, who produced the 2017 short film Lou and worked as the production manager on Inside Out, is producing Soul.

Pixar has proven masterful at creating and exploring a variety of new worlds and other realms, but the only time they've visited one that could be described as "cosmic" was in Wall*E, and that was ten years ago. Does this mean they're literally returning to space in Soul – shades of Prometheus, with characters looking to find their true purpose in the universe – or is "cosmic" being used in a different sense here? We'll find out when Soul hits theaters on June 19, 2020 (or, more likely, in the trailers that hit before that).