Hot off the heels of the release of Soul on Disney Plus, Pixar is already teasing their next animated film. While the project was announced ages ago, before the release of Soul, the studio has kept mostly quiet about the film as they geared up to focus on on what was directly in front of them. Now however, Soul has finally escaped into the world and Pixar is providing a small look at what's next.

Announced back in 2020, Luca was slated as Pixar's big 2021 feature. Set in a seaside town on the Italian Riviera, a young boy has fun filled adventures with a newfound best friend. However, this new friend has a secret, as he is actually a sea monster from a world just below the surface of the water.

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It's an interesting premise, and it's certainly something new for the company. Pixar has also stated that the film will be a period piece, taking place either pre or post-WWII. The film will be directed by Enrico Casarosa, who has been working with Pixar as a senior creative advisor since 2017 and also directed the Oscar-nominated short La Luna in 2011.

Earlier this week, Empire magazine got to reveal a new image from the film as part of their most recent issue, and includes some discussion about the coming-of-age film with the director himself. Born in Genoa, Casarosa talks about a young friend who lived a very different life from himself, and how it helped change his perspective: "I was really shy and I found this troublemaker of a kid who had a completely different life. I wanted to make a movie about those kinds of friendships that help you grow up."

Casarosa also said that the film will take inspiration from Italian filmmakers and Hayao Miyazaki, one of the co-founders of Studio Ghibli. All these new concepts and inspirations are certainly interesting, and no doubt fans will be excited to see what Pixar comes up with when the film finally releases.

While the image itself only teases the main characters, it's certainly a very charming photo, with a nice color palette and Pixar's usual high level of polish. Hopefully the full film will deliver on Pixar's high bar of quality and achieve everything the team hopes.

Luca will release in 2021.

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Source: Empire