We haven’t even seen Pixar’s Soul yet (it would’ve premiered at Cannes if not for the damn coronavirus), but we already know what the studio’s next feature will be: As announced this morning, Pixar will release Luca on June 18, 2021, with the studio explaining on Twitter that it’s about a boy in Italy having an “unforgettable summer.” That’s very vague, to the point of almost being totally uninteresting, but thankfully Deadline has some much more intriguing details—like the fact that this unforgettable summer involves Luca enjoying “gelato, pasta, and endless scooter rides” with his new best friend. Molto bella!
Oh, also, the new best friend is actually a sea monster. We don’t know what kind of sea monster the friend will be—like some kind of tentacled nightmare, a prehistoric water horse, or a hideous fish-person like Patrick Wilson in Aquaman—but the two kids in the teaser image that Pixar shared did both look human, so maybe the monster will be disguised as a person during this unforgettable summer. Just as long as the kid is eventually exposed and chased by torch-bearing townspeople, we don’t care what kind of monster they are.
Luca will be the directorial debut of Enrico Casarosa (who previously made the Oscar-nominated Pixar short La Luna and worked as a storyboard artist on Ratatouille), and in a statement he said this is a “personal story” for him because of its setting (Casarosa grew up on the Italian Riviera) and because of its focus on impactful childhood friendships.