Wreck-It Ralph, the 2012 computer animated Disney film served the company very well, gaining strong critical reviews and proving popular with the public as well. Its 52nd animated classic, Wreck-It Ralph centred on characters in a series of arcade games. The eponymous arcade villain (voiced by John C. Reilly), decides he wants to become a hero instead and sets out on a journey through various arcade games in an attempt to eliminate a threat to the arcade universe.
The film took $471 million at the worldwide box office, and with the potential to easily expand on the universe and utilize the characters in further storylines, it came as no surprise when rumors about Wreck-It Ralph 2 began as far back as December 2012. The rumors stayed just that though, until the voice of Wreck-It Ralph, John C. Reilly, confirmed in an interview that he has signed on for a second installment.
Penny Hart, executive producer at Irish radio station RTE Arena, confirmed the news via her Twitter. In 2013, Wreck-It Ralph director, Rich Moore, told the Huffington Post that he would like to do a sequel and also confirmed that Reilly, along with Sarah Silverman who provided the voice of Vanellope, would be interested in a return.
“I’ve talked with John [C. Reilly] and Sarah [Silverman] and we would all love to visit that world again and work with those characters again.”
Silverman has also been vocal about her desire to make a sequel, though she is not confirmed as yet. There is also no word on whether other voice cast members, Jane Lynch (Glee) and Jack McBreyer (30 Rock) will return.
The potential is definitely there for Wreck-It Ralph 2 to be a very lucrative sequel for Disney. Moore has already previously stated that he would like to incorporate well-known video game characters such as Mario, Luigi and Zelda into the storyline, which could possibly see Ralph exploring the online gaming world.
With familiar Nintendo characters included, Wreck-It Ralph 2 would open up the franchise to a whole new legion of fans keen to see their familiar favorites on the big screen interacting with one another in a fantasy world.
As yet, there is no word on when Disney would envisage this sequel happening, and Disney has a pretty full card right now, with releases of Zootopia, Pixar’s Finding Dory and Moana pending, not to mention Frozen 2, Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2 all in the works.
So while it’s unlikely to be anytime soon, Wreck-It Ralph 2 will certainly be one to look out for.
