After a record-breaking run at the box office, a sequel to Disney’s live-actionLilo & Stitchis now in development. The movie was first released over Memorial Day weekend andearned the holiday’s biggest opening with an impressive $182.6 million. To date, it has earned over $914 million worldwide.
The newLilo & Stitchlargely follows the same story as the 2002 original, tracking the unconventional friendship between Stitch (Chris Sanders), a wild alien, and Lilo (Maia Kealoha), a lonely young Hawaiian girl. Though it made some controversial changes to the story,Lilo & Stitchhas been generally well-received.
To celebrate June 26, a date that coincides with Stitch’s experiment number 626,Disneyannounced thatLilo & Stitch 2is officially in development. The news came with a video of Stitch himself exuberantly driving a car around the Disney lot. No further details about the project have been revealed. Check out the post below:
What This Means For The Lilo & Stitch Franchise
Disney Is Going All In, And It Isn’t Surprising
Disney’s decision to makeLilo & Stitch 2isn’t surprising, seeing asthe first movie has made nearly $1 billion worldwide. Though it isn’t quite the highest-grossing Hollywood movie of the year just yet -A Minecraft Moviestill holds that distinction- its impressive profits have shown this is a story audiences are deeply invested in.
Unlike most potential live-action sequels or spinoffs,Lilo & Stitch 2has entered development only one month after its predecessor’s release, which indicatesDisney is eager to get a sequel produced as soon as possible. Though no official timeline has been revealed, if a script comes together by the end of the year, production could take place next year, and the sequel could be released as soon as 2027.
Cruella 2was also put into development one month after its predecessor’s release, butMufasa: The Lion Kingentered development more than a year after the first movie.Aladdin 2also entered development almost one year after its predecessor.
However, assuming Disney wants to get this right,Lilo & Stitch 2could instead take a few more years. Nevertheless, the speed of the announcement shows Disney is interested in building upontheLilo & Stitchbrand, which already includes a number of animated sequels and spinoffs.Any one of them could provide the storyfor the upcoming sequel.
Our Take On Lilo & Stitch 2
The Sequel Could Fix The First Movie’s Mistakes
Much like most Disney movies,the ending toLilo & Stitchis fairly conclusive, tying up the main characters' stories in a manner that has sparked a great deal of debate. Still, it is clear thatit is only the beginning of a new chapter for Lilo, Stitch, and Nani(Sydney Agudong), so there is still plenty of room for more stories to be told.
WithseveralLilo & Stitchchangesearning criticism from audiences, the sequel could provide the perfect opportunity to fix them andcreate a more universally satisfying story. It’s rare for one of Disney’s more traditional live-action remakes to get a sequel, andLilo & Stitch 2could be an even bigger success for the studio if handled properly.
