It seems there’s room in the Underworld for more than one upcoming animated Day of the Dead–themed movie: In addition to Pixar’s Coco, which comes out in November, we can also finally expect an official sequel to the visually stunning 2014 film The Book of Life. Director Jorge R. Gutierrez announced on Thursday that studio Reel FX is on board and moving forward with plans for The Book of Life 2. He had previously unveiled a poster for a potential sequel to the film on Twitter.
The original Book of Life centers around former childhood friends Manolo (Diego Luna), Maria (Zoe Saldana), and Joaquin (Channing Tatum), whose love triangle rouses the interest of some otherworldly deities. “I am a big fan of romantic movies.” Gutierrez told Variety, which broke the news of the sequel. “I always want to find out what happens afterwards. That’s one question we will ask during the sequel.”
Of course, since the original Book of Life was released, we’ve gotten our first look at another animated movie centered around the famed Mexican holiday: Coco, which shares many of the same themes and similar visuals to Gutierrez’ film. Even before its first trailer had dropped, Coco stirred some controversy when Disney tried to trademark the phrase Día de los Muertos; fortunately for the new Book of Life sequel, the studio withdrew that request after it inspired a backlash.
Both camps seem amicable about the similarities between the two films:
The Book of Life 2 does not yet have a release date.
