Everything We Know About Cars On The Road So Far

First, the original "Cars" went to whatever the "Cars" universe equivalent of the Daytona 500 is, and it was mostly solid. Then "Cars 2" went to Europe and Japan on a hybrid racing/international espionage adventure, and the results were ... somewhat baffling. Then "Cars 3" decided to take the dark-and-gritty "Logan" route by interrogating the legacy and relevance of Lightning McQueen in an oddly self-serious but emotional threequel, and it was mostly heralded as a return to form for the franchise. There have been all sorts of diminishing returns in the form of spin-off movies, short films, TV shows, and more, but that's not stopping Pixar from continuing to cash in on one of their most lucrative and merchandise-ready properties. Their latest project will be a Disney+ series titled "Cars on the Road," which we learned about on this year's Disney+ Day and have since compiled everything we currently know about.

When And Where To Watch Cars on the Road

Pixar provided our first real look at "Cars on the Road" for the recent Disney+ Day celebration this year, but none of the information included a firm release date just yet. Otherwise, we know that this series will premiere on the Disney+ streaming service sometime in the fall of 2022. Much like Pixar's "Win or Lose," the studio's first original series to hit the streaming platform, it is as of yet unknown whether "Cars on the Road" will release all of its episodes at once or take the same week-by-week approach that Disney has seemed to favor for their Marvel and "Star Wars" shows.

What We Think Cars on the Road Is About

Pixar has mostly left us in the dark about specific plot details for "Cars on the Road," but the concept art the studio provided on Disney+ Day certainly tell their own stories. This appears to be an anthology show of sorts, putting the "Cars" characters into absolutely otherworldly scenarios (well, more otherworldly than their own "Cars" universe already is) that apparently includes dino-cars, a sort of "Mad Max" dystopian time period, and Lightning McQueen on the run from some angry monster truck in a wintery forest setting. Our guess is that this will be a collection of stories that the "Cars" characters are regaling to each other while on a road trip, but it'd certainly be bold if the series played this all completely straight with no actual explanation for how they keep finding themselves in bigger and even more wild circumstances.

What We Know About the Cars on the Road Cast and Crew

"Cars on the Road" is written by Steve Purcell, who is known for writing and co-directing Pixar's "Brave," as well as for working as a storyboard artist on the original "Cars." Pixar veteran Marc Sondheimer is producing the series, which will also see the return of Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen and Larry the Cable Guy as Mater. Reportedly, some characters from the spin-off franchise "Planes" will also appear in the series, along with (presumably) the supporting cast of characters from throughout the "Cars" trilogy.