‘The Mitchells vs. the Machines 2’ in the Works, From Netflix and Sony Animation (EXCLUSIVE)

 The Mitchells and the machines are getting ready for another battle.

Sony Pictures Animation is working on a sequel to its 2021 Oscar-nominated movie "The Mitchells vs. the Machines."

 Guillermo Martinez, who was the head of story for the first movie, and JP Sans, who co-directed "The Bad Guys 2," are now directing the sequel. This is Martinez's first time directing a movie. The Molyneux sisters, Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin, who are known for their work on "The Great North," are writing the new script. Production is set to start in early 2026.

Like the first movie, Netflix will be handling the distribution of this sequel through a licensing agreement with Sony.

 The two studios are planning a more joined-up creative partnership for the second movie. The original film was first planned to be released by Sony Pictures in 2020, but the title was changed to "Connected." However, due to delays from the COVID-19 pandemic, Netflix ended up picking up the film under its original title for more than $100 million.

"The Mitchells vs. the Machines" follows the Mitchells family as they drive their eldest daughter, Katie, across the country to film school in California.

 While on the road, a rogue AI called PAL leads an army of robots in a worldwide rebellion against humans. It's up to the Mitchells — including Katie's tech-phobic father Rick, her overly kind mother Linda, and her energetic younger brother Aaron — to stop the robots. The movie was praised for its hand-painted animation style, won eight Annie Awards, including for animated feature, and was nominated for best animated feature at the Oscars.

The movie is being produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller through their company Lord Miller, and Kurt Albrecht for Sony Pictures Animation.

 Mike Rianda, who co-wrote and directed the first movie, is an executive producer, along with Aditya Sood from Lord Miller.

Guillermo Martinez began his career on the 2019 Laika film "Missing Link."

 After working as head of story on the first "Mitchells vs. Machines" movie, he joined the 2023 film "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" and worked on "KPop Demon Hunters."

Before co-directing "The Bad Guys 2" with Pierre Perifel, JP Sans worked as an animator on several DreamWorks Animation films, including "Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken," "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish," and "Trolls World Tour."