Billy Crystal has finally provided an update on Monsters at Work, the animated continuation of Monsters, Inc. in the works at Disney+. It’s been known that the series has been on the way for a while now, with Disney CEO Bob Iger first announcing the project in 2017. Updates on the show’s progress have been rather stagnant ever since, as last year didn’t bring much news beyond the fact that recording on the show had officially begun.
Speaking with Collider about the status of Monsters at Work in a new interview, Billy Crystal shed some light on the new series. This includes confirming that it is indeed an episodic program and that he’ll be back as Sulley with John Goodman also returning as Mike. From the interview:
“It’s a series. John Goodman and I are Sulley and Mike. The show, time-wise, starts six months after Monsters Inc. ended. So now, we’re on the Laugh Floor. We’ve created all of the new, young, great characters with some great voice actors, and John and I are reprising our parts. I tell ya, it’s [been] 20 years [since the release of ‘Monsters, Inc.’] and that movie looked amazing 20 years ago. It’s coming up to the 20th anniversary [in September]… It’s fantastic looking, it’s hilarious, and we’re having a lot of fun doing it.”
While progress is moving along swimmingly on the series, Crystal also admits he has no idea when the episodes will premiere on Disney+.
“Yeah, we’ve done a bunch [of episodes]. We’ve been on a break because of the pandemic. But some I was able to do at home and some I was able to do in a very deserted studio out in Burbank. To be the only one on the lot was a little weird. But yeah, we’re progressing. I don’t know when they’re gonna start [being released] but I promise you they’re really good.”
Along with Crystal and Goodman, it has also been reported that the cast will include the returns of Jennifer Tilly as Celia Mae, John Ratzenberger as the Abominable Snowman, and Bob Peterson as Roz. Newcomers to the franchise taking on original roles for Monsters at Work include Ben Feldman (Superstore), Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Henry Winkler (Barry), Lucas Neff (Raising Hope), Alanna Ubach (Coco), Stephen Stanton (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and Aisha Tyler (Whose Line Is It Anyway?).
Monsters at Work is set six months after the events of Monsters, Inc. and follows Tylor Tuskmon, a recent Scare Major graduate from Monsters University, who now works as a mechanic in the Facilities Team with dreams of one day working alongside Mike and Sulley. As for exactly how long the episodes will be, Crystal says that it’s “hard to tell when you’re just reading,” but that the episodes have full scripts and are part of a continuing story, adding that it’s “really gonna be fun.”
Soul helmer Pete Docter developed Monsters at Work for the small screen and will serve as an executive producer. For now, it remains unclear when Monsters at Work will begin streaming on Disney+. This news comes to us courtesy of Collider.