Sky High Director Wants To Make A Sequel – And He Wants Marvel's Help [Exclusive]
"Sky High" remains one of the better Disney movies of the 2000s. It is a superhero film that satirizes the genre, telling the story of the son of the two biggest superheroes on the planet and what happens when he enrolls in a high school for superheroes. Yes, it is essentially a live-action version of "My Hero Academia" (which now has its own version in the works), but funnier.
The family-friendly film was ahead of its time, and it had a stacked cast that included — much like "Scott Pilgrim — actors who would become big shortly thereafter, like Mary Elizabeth Winstead and eventual "Succession" actor Nicholas Braun. It's a fun movie with a simple premiere that could easily hold a much larger world we never got to see. Every adult acts like they could have a trilogy of films, and every young hero and villain looks screen-ready for a much larger role.
During an interview about his work on "Kung Fu Panda 4" (check out our chaotic and hilarious interview with the movie's stars, Jack Black and Awkwafina) director Mike Mitchell was enthusiastic to talk about "Sky High," which he directed before he began directing animated projects. When asked if he ever had any plans to make a sequel, Mitchell didn't miss a beat.
"Oh, absolutely. We talk about it all the time," he said. It helps that Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who created the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise, worked as uncredited writers on "Sky High," and according to Mitchell, the trio even has two possible titles ready to go: "Sky Higher," which is hilariously silly and apt, and also "Save U."
That stands for "Save University," Mitchell explained. "We thought maybe all the kids have grown up and they're now teachers, so now they're dealing with the crazy kids that they once were. Because all these terrific kid actors, they're all grown up now. And Kurt Russell's in. He had a blast. So I'm ready to go."
Sky Higher
In an interview with Inverse in 2020, co-screenwriter Mark McCorkle credits a big part of the lasting success of the movie to its costumes. "At the time, lots of superhero movies that were huge box office hits decided to go with black costumes," he said. "'Sky High' proved that you can be bright and colorful and still resonate with real human emotions and a real story." At the time of that interview, Disney+ was just being launched, and McCorkle saw an opportunity for "Sky High" to get a second chance, much like "X-Men: The Animated Series" got a second chance and a new season decades after it ended.
In our interview with Mitchell, the director shared that belief and was enthusiastic about the prospect of a sequel. In fact, he wants to involve the biggest superhero movie studio in Hollywood to help make it happen. "I'd like to pull Marvel into it," he told us. "I'd like Marvel's help. Maybe Kevin Feige, he's always been a fan of 'Sky High.'"
"We're the first movie to make fun and have a joke and make fun of superheroes, but at the same time, I think fans of 'Sky High' realize we love comic books. So they could tell that we're having fun with the genre rather than making fun of it. But yeah, help me out! Next time you have an interview with anyone at either Marvel or Disney, say, 'Hey, Mike Mitchell's ready.' We've got a scriptment ready to go. I've got some designs. We've designed a few new costumes for them. I'm ready to make another 'Sky High' film."
Given that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all about the multiverse now, who is to say we can't have Kurt Russell's The Commander show up in a future adventure?