Coco 2 Is Happening, But Can Pixar Make Us Need A Sequel To A Story That Already Said Goodbye

There are some movies you finish watching and immediately want more of it, and then there is Coco, the movie that made you cry about family, death, memory and a little boy with a guitar, before gently reminding you that being remembered is its own kind of immortality.

So when Pixar announced Coco 2, the first reaction was of course “Oh my goodness! Miguel is coming back!!” But where would we be taken after that ending is the central question, and we can be certain that Pixar would have the answer brewing. 

Coco 2: Everything We Know So Far

At D23 2026, Pixar confirmed that Coco 2 will be released in November 2029. At D23, new concept art from the film which depicts Miguel, a teenager, alongside Dante, his beloved dog. The film is a sequel to the 2017 animated favourite, which followed Miguel Rivera as he travelled into the Land of the Dead and uncovered the complicated truth behind his family’s history and its ban on music.

Lee Unkrich is returning to direct Coco 2 alongside Adrian Molina as the co-director.

D23 2026 has given us something much more tangible: the first look at our beloved Miguel as a teenager.

Benjamin Bratt is returning as Ernesto de la Cruz, which perhaps can mean that complicated piece of Miguel’s family history might not stay buried.

Miguel Grew Up And How

This makes the return of Coco 2 genuinely interesting because Pixar could have done the easiest thing in the world, which was to return us to little Miguel again.

It could have been the same guitar, same hair, same adorable face, same emotional devastation and put a “Remember Me?” somewhere in the background and make us all watch it collectively just for the nostalgia factor. But Pixar took the story forward.

Miguel is older, and that changes everything. When we met him in Coco, Miguel knew he wanted music, he knew his family did not understand that dream, and he also knew that something about the family’s history was not quite adding up.

By the end, there was a highly emotional finale that resolved the family’s conflict in both worlds. But that does not magically make growing up easier; rather, it sometimes builds up the difficulties.

Coco 2 Can Be About What Happens After You Find Yourself

Coco was at heart a coming-of-age story, and Coco 2 has the opportunity to take that literally. Miguel is no longer a child standing at the beginning of his dream; he is a teenager who has already experienced something most people could not even begin to process. 

Miguel has now travelled to the Land of the Dead and met his ancestors, and discovered painful truths about family. He has fought to keep music in his life.

But what would happen next? Does his dream still look the change and has his relationship with his family changed at all? This movie is a perfect point for Pixar to tell us if music has become Miguel’s career, hobby, responsibility or something way more personal.

He has travelled to the Land of the Dead. He has met his ancestors. He has discovered painful truths about his family. He has fought to keep music in his life.

Ernesto Is Back

There is one name in the D23 reveal that immediately makes everything a little more suspicious: Ernesto de la Cruz.

Benjamin Bratt is returning, and his return does suggest that the legacy of Coco is not simply being left behind. Benjamin reflected the version of Miguel’s dream that was built on fame, ego and being remembered for the wrong reasons, while Miguel’s story was about something quiet.

The contrast still has potential.

The D23 First Look Makes One Thing Very Clear

Coco 2 is not trying to pretend the first movie never happened, and that is the best thing that they could have done.

The original Coco already gave us a completely emotional journey; Miguel found his family, his music and understood the importance of remembering the people who came before him. Pixar did not need to undo that ending just to manufacture another adventure. Instead, it has done something way more interesting.

It is not about recreation; it is about growing.

Because We Grew Up Too

There is something unfairly emotional about seeing teenage Miguel, perhaps because Coco came out in 2017. 

Perhaps because some of us who watched that little boy sing “Remember Me” are now considerably older ourselves, or perhaps because Pixar has quietly pulled the oldest trick in the book: show us a childhood character growing up and suddenly make us question where the years went.

That is beautiful. Miguel is growing older, which means the audience gets to grow alongside him. Coco 2 can actually show us something equally lovely about growing up, which is that you do not have to leave your childhood behind to become someone new.

Coco 2 Might Not Need To Be Bigger: It Just Needs To Be Deeper

This is my biggest hope for this sequel. I do not think Coco 2 needs to have a bigger Land of the Dead or more characters simply because Pixar can make them or even another song that destroys my emotional stability, but only a deeper feeling attached.

With Coco 2, a deeper emotional buffet and a feeling of a memory piece from childhood would become the absolute perfect gift.

Are you excited for Coco 2? And watch Coco, if you have not already!

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