Pixar’s Elio is officially going to be hitting cinema screens later this year after what feels like several years of delays and setbacks. The studio has recently released a new trailer to remind audiences of their upcoming project, but this new version of Elio feels like a totally different film than what was first announced in 2023. The new Elio trailer has a very different tone from the original, and several key scenes have been remade with a different story in mind. It’s unclear exactly how much the upcoming Elio film has changed, but there are massive differences.
Elio was subject to massive behind-the-scene changes throughout its many years of production, with much of the film’s crew changing halfway through. This explains why the film looks so different from the original vision, but it’s understandably left audiences confused as to why so much of the story has changed too. While most of the character designs have remained the same, the new trailer reveals that certain heroes and villains have totally swapped roles. Elio original promised a “sci-fi horror” approach to storytelling, but it’s hard to see that in the new trailer.
Elio’s New Trailer Confirms A Completely New Villain Story
Grigon Seems To Have Shifted From Comic Relief To Main Villain
One of the most surprising aspects of Elio’s new trailer is the role of Grigon, who seemed to be a friendly source of comic relief in the original teaser but now appears to be the main villain of the entire film. Voiced by Brad Garrett, the character was originally supposed to be an ambassador of the so-called “Communiverse” whom Elio befriends after being abducted from Earth. Although he talked about destroying Earth and eating his own parents, the alien was clearly supposed to be a funny character who teaches Elio about his purpose in the universe.
This new Elio is almost unrecognizable from the first trailer that was released almost two years ago.
However, the new trailer for Elio doesn’t have any of this comedic subtext to Grigon. Following a telling name change to “Lord” Grigon, the character is seen building “the greatest war machine in the universe” and conquering planets whenever he sees fit. Instead, Grigon’s comedic role seems to have been overtaken by his son Gordon, a slug-like creature who laughs at the idea of conquering Elio and quickly becomes his friend. This new Elio is almost unrecognizable from the first trailer that was released almost two years ago.
Elio’s Abduction Sequence & Other Details Have Changed
Several Moments In The Original Trailer Were Totally Redesigned
Another major change to Elio’s story is the character’s eagerness to be abducted by the aliens. In the original trailer, the abduction is a complete accident that happens when Elio’s mother comes into contact with an alien species and inadvertently sends them to him. The protagonist is clearly afraid when the UFO turns up to bring him to the Communiverse, as he screams “No, thank you!” while he’s beamed into space.
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This is completely different from the scene that’s shown in the new trailer, where Elio makes contact with the aliens himself and proclaims “If any aliens are listening, please come and get me.” When the abduction happens, it looks very different from the original scene and the music that soundtracks the sequence is much more lighthearted. This is just one indicator of how drastically the plot of Pixar’s Elio has changed; the new trailer also shows Elio’s multiple attempts to send messages into space, and his consequent involvement in the battle against Lord Grigon.
The character model also looks slightly different in Elio’s new trailer, which could suggest that Pixar’s upcoming movie underwent a complete creative overhaul when Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina were brought in as replacement directors. They’ve all worked on Pixar projects before, so it makes sense that their vision of Elio is much more familiar to the studio’s breezier and more lighthearted stories.
Elio’s Tone Has Also Been Overhauled
The Film Seems Much Funnier And More Lighthearted Now
Custom image by Debanjana Chowdhury
The original hints of sci-fi horror in Elio’s original trailer are completely absent from the finished product, which has seemingly opted for a more comedic and family-friendly tone instead. This makes sense given the target audience of Pixar’s movies, but it’s hard not to be disappointed by the reversal of this bold stylistic swing. It seems like the finished version of Elio is much more focused on being funny and charming than taking any huge risks, which may be one of the core reasons it was overhauled in the first place.
Upcoming Pixar Movies | Release Date |
|---|---|
Elio | June 20, 2025 |
Hoppers | March 6, 2026 |
Toy Story 5 | June 19, 2026 |
The Incredibles 3 | TBD |
The original trailer starts with a lengthy sequence in which Elio is unwillingly torn from his family and abducted by aliens, with some atmospheric music to keep the tone dark and mysterious. This was very different for Pixar, and understandably had many audiences excited about a potentially less family-oriented story from the studio. However, the new trailer shows Elio happy and eager to fight alongside his new alien friends, with some important lines in the narration that speak to the film’s overarching themes of finding family and discovering our purpose in the universe.
Why Elio Looks So Different Now Compared To In 2023
The Reason Comes Down To Behind-The-Scenes Problems
As mentioned, the key reason for Elio’s complete stylistic switch-up likely comes down to the new directors. Assuming something wasn’t working about the original script, Pixar brought in different talent to create a story that fit more neatly into their existing catalog. This created several delays for Disney in 2024, which resulted in both Elio and Rachel Zegler’s Snow White remake being pushed back to 2025 instead. As such, Elio is currently the only Pixar movie with a fixed release date this year.
Disney’s Snow White premiers on March 21, 2025.
It’s also plausible that Elio’s production was delayed because of the SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, which prevented writers and actors from working on their projects for the entire time of the dispute. This famously caused several shows and movies to be pushed back by several months, but this impact has been felt even more strongly with Elio because animated movies typically take longer to make. The film has also been pushed back to avoid competition with How To Train Your Dragon, which is set to release on June 13, 2025.
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Elio
Release Date
June 13, 2025
Director
Adrian Molina
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Adrian Molina