Today marks the 10th anniversary of Pixar’s The Incredibles, and with a sequel in the works, the big question is how to improve on a nearly perfect superhero movie. Here are ten ideas as to how Brad Bird and his creative team can improve on their second time around with Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, and their whole incredible family.
Give Frozone More Screen Time – Samuel L. Jackson was already a big star when The Incredibles came out, but since then, he has added Nick Fury to his resume. He is in the Marvel Universe and Mr. Incredible’s best friend. If that isn’t enough, I have five words: “Where is my super suit?!”
More Pun-y One-Off Villains – I love goofy, old-fashioned villains like Bomb Voyage and the Underminer, and I expect more of these villains in the sequel. The Incredibles is, in many ways, a tribute to the golden age of comic books, a time when comics were less concerned with being dark and gritty. Silly bad guys set The Incredibles apart from more modern-day super heroes and their villainous counterparts.
Bring Back Michael Giacchino – In some ways, there is no need to mess with a formula that works, and Brad Bird and composer Michael Giacchino are a winning combination. In addition to The Incredibles, they teamed up on Ratatouille and Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and Giacchino will be composing the music for Bird’s upcoming Tomorrowland. Giacchino will do a brilliant job.
Explore The New Superhero Normal – At the beginning of The Incredibles, super heroes are hiding in plain sight, but by the end, Mr. Incredible’s handler says that the politicians can sort out the anti-super laws. In The Incredibles 2, the story should really tackle what the world is like now that superheroes are back out in the open.
New Costume Design – The red, yellow, and black look is clean and classic, but with a sequel, the whole family should get a costume re-design. I’m sure Edna would be itching for an upgrade, especially since Jack-Jack finally has powers.
More Family Fights – The best fights in The Incredibles had the whole family fighting together, like Violet’s force field paired with Dash’s speed. The only problem is that they didn’t get to join forces until Helen, Violet, and Dash went to rescue Bob. I recommend kicking off The Incredibles 2 with some terrific family fight scenes.
Bring In A Flawed Superhero – The Incredibles came out in 2004, four years before Iron Man or The Dark Knight. The dark, brooding superhero was not popularized in film yet. I would love to see how Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl would react to a Tony Stark-style flawed super hero and how they would work together, if they worked together.
Bring In A Non-Superhuman Hero – Speaking of Tony Stark, I want to see The Incredibles 2 handle ordinary human beings who use their intelligence or technology to fight for good. Syndrome represented people using technology to lessen superheroes and their special powers, but I wonder how Mr. Incredible would deal with a non-super human trying to be a hero. Would he encourage them or treat them the way he treated IncrediBoy?
New Big Villain – It might be tempting to bring back IncrediBoy/Syndrome for the sequel. Sure, he got sucked into the propellers at the end of The Incredibles, but comic book villains come back to life all the time. I have nothing against Syndrome or Jason Lee. He is a great villain, but I think The Incredibles 2 should avoid retreading old ground as much as possible.
Tackle The Super Hero Team – DC and Marvel are having a very public stand-off with their competing superhero teams, the Justice League and the Avengers. The Incredibles are a team of their own, much like the Fantastic Four, but something that could shake them up is another up-and-coming superhero team. Maybe it is a team of young superheroes like the Avengers, and they invite Violet and Dash to join, leaving their parents and kid brother behind. The universe of The Incredibles has firmly established that most superheroes work alone, so superhero teams are unexplored territory.