Cars 3

Cars 3 is a Pixar film, its eighteenth feature film, and the second sequel to the 2006 film Cars, released on June 16, 2017. It is be directed by Brian Fee. At the Disney stockholder meeting on March 18, 2014, Disney CEO Bob Iger first announced that Pixar had begun pre-production on Cars 3.

Synopsis
"Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) is suddenly pushed out of the sport he loves. To get back in the game, he will need the help of an eager young race technician, Cruz Ramirez, with her own plan to win, plus inspiration from the late Fabulous Hudson Hornet and a few unexpected turns. Proving that #95 isn't through yet will test the heart of a champion on Piston Cup Racing's biggest stage!"

In May 2016, Fee gave the first details regarding the plot: the film sees Lightning McQueen, now a veteran in the racing world, facing the rise of a new generation of race cars epitomized by Jackson Storm. Following a defeat to Storm, McQueen enlists the help of a new trainee, Cruz Ramirez, a sleek female race car, to prepare him for the the Florida 500, in the hope that he can give a game-changing performance. Fee elaborated: "Think of where he’d be in his career now in real time. [McQueen] is not an old man, but he's one of the older cars on the circuit with new rookies coming in. People start to wonder and ask when he might retire."

Plot
After the events of Cars 2, Lightning McQueen now brings Mater to all of his races and was still racing with his long time friends Bobby Swift and Cal Weathers until a mysterious black car named Jackson Storm, who is part of a new generation of racers who use the latest technology to run faster than veteran racers, comes from nowhere to beat him. At the next race, there are six more high-tech cars, and Bobby, Cal, and the rest of the old racers decide to retire. At the next race, Lightning has the lead, but Storm catches up and overtakes him. Lightning tries to catch up, but one of his back tires blows out, and he launches into a barrel roll, becoming badly injured.

Four months later, Lightning is recovering back in Radiator Springs, and informs his girlfriend Sally that he doesn't want to be forced into retiring, like his late mentor Doc Hudson, but he also can't race like before. She tells him to try something new, and Lightning decides to start training again.

Lightning calls Rusty and Dusty, the CEOs of Rust-Eze, saying that he wants to train like Storm, and they inform him that they're opening the new Rust-eze Racing Center. Lightning travels there, only for Rusty and Dusty to tell him that in order to pay for the facility, they sold Rust-eze to a car named Sterling, who introduces him to his trainer, Cruz Ramirez, who is a big fan of him. Lightning attempts to use the simulator in the facility to train, but he shoots forward and crashes into the screen in the process. Sterling then tells him that he's not going to race anymore, and that in order to provide Sterling with revenue, he will be selling legacy merchandise instead. Lightning begs for one more race, agreeing to retire if he loses, and Sterling allows him to train at Fireball Beach with the help of Cruz.

Lightning is able to train on the beach and help Cruz become experienced as well, but his top speed is 198 mph, which is still slower than Storm. Lightning sees a dirt track known as Thunder Hollow and decides to do more difficult training there. At the speedway, Lightning comes upon the Crazy Eight Demolition Derby and he and Cruz are joined by a huge school bus named Miss Fritter. The derby starts and after Lightning challenges Miss Fritter to avoid hitting Cruz, she becomes the last undamaged car. Because of this, Cruz is declared the winner and Lightning becomes upset that he failed to win. Upon hearing this, Cruz says she wanted to become a racer her whole life because of him, but when she got to her first race, she saw that all of the other cars looked stronger, and therefore left.

Lightning sees a report on TV that Storm set a new record for the fastest lap in a race. He calls up Mater to get some good advice and he replies that Doc's trainer would know the most about racing. Knowing his trainer to be an old truck named Smokey, Lightning persuades Cruz to help look for him. Arriving at Doc's hometown, they come across Smokey and Lightning says he doesn't want the crash that happened to Doc to happen to him. Smokey shows Lightning a garage containing a whole wall of pictures of himself and Doc together. He tells Lightning that coaching him was the best part of Doc's life and that he can be smarter than Storm. Lightning participates in a practice race against Cruz, but he still can't catch up to her. After watching footage that shows Doc pulling ahead of another car after drafting, Cruz and Lightning are successfully able to complete the exercises. They perform a final practice race, and Lightning takes the lead down the final stretch. However, he then has a flashback to his crash and loses the race, before heading off with Cruz and Smokey to the opening Piston Cup race in Florida.

At the race, Lightning lines up in the last position due to his failure to appear at the qualifier and he passes the other racers using the skills he learned at the dirt track. However, Sterling informs Cruz that she cannot watch because she is merely a trainer, and when a wreck occurs on the track and Lightning pulls into the pits, he decides to have Cruz finish for him in order for her to have a chance at racing. After several laps, Cruz pulls up behind the pack of racers and she picks her way between them before pulling right behind Storm on the last lap. When they approach the finish line, Storm rams her into the wall, but Cruz drives up the wall and flips in the air over Jackson in a manner similar to Doc, thereby winning the race. Upon this victory, she rejects Sterling's offer to race for him and signs up for Dinoco instead. After Lightning notices that he and Cruz are both declared as the winners, he decides to continue racing.

Back at Radiator Springs, Cruz (now as Dinoco #51) and Lightning (now as The Fabulous Lightning McQueen) learn that Tex has bought Rust-eze and taken over their sponsorships. They then perform a practice race together using their newfound skills.

In a post-credits scene, Mater has trouble with his smartphone when he tries answering a call.

Voice cast

 * Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen
 * Paul Newman as Doc Hudson/Fabulous Hudson Hornet (archive audio and unused dialogue from first film)
 * Cristela Alonzo as Cruz Ramirez
 * Chris Cooper as Smokey
 * Armie Hammer as Jackson Storm
 * Nathan Fillion as Sterling
 * John Ratzenberger as Mack
 * Larry the Cable Guy as Tow Mater
 * Bonnie Hunt as Sally Carrera
 * Cheech Marin as Ramone
 * Jenifer Lewis as Flo
 * Paul Dooley as Sarge
 * Lloyd Sherr as Fillmore
 * Katherine Helmond as Lizzie
 * Michael Wallis as Sheriff
 * Guido Quaroni as Guido
 * Tony Shalhoub as Luigi
 * Richard Petty as Strip "The King" Weathers
 * Bob Peterson as Chick Hicks
 * Jeff Gordon as Jeff Gorvette
 * Bob Costas as Bob Cutlass
 * Darrell Waltrip as Darrell Cartrip
 * Ray Magliozzi as Dusty
 * Tom Magliozzi as Rusty
 * Chase Elliott as Chase Racelott
 * Daniel Suárez as Danny Swervez
 * Ryan Blaney as Ryan "Inside" Laney
 * Darrell Wallace Jr. as Bubba Wheelhouse
 * Kyle Petty as Cal Weathers
 * Shannon Spake as Shannon Spokes
 * H. A. Wheeler as Tex Dinoco
 * Ray Evernham as Ray Reverham
 * Mike Joy as Mike Joyride
 * Kerry Washington as Natalie Certain
 * Lea DeLaria as Miss Fritter
 * Lewis Hamilton as Hamilton
 * Isiah Whitlock Jr. as River Scott
 * Junior Johnson as Junior "Midnight" Moon
 * Margo Martindale as Louise "Barnstormer" Nash
 * Angel Oquendo as Bobby Swift

Production
It was previously assumed that Pixar would order a third film in the Cars franchise after the box office and merchandising success of Cars 2. On August 17, 2013, voice actor Michael Wallis told radio audiences that Cars 3 would take place on California's Route 99. In October 2014, John Lasseter revealed at the Tokyo International Film Festival that the film will feature a tribute to Hayao Miyazaki's film The Castle of Cagliostro in a form of an old Citroën 2CV.

At the 2015 São Paulo Disney Expo, it was hinted that the film would be released in Brazil in 2018. In an interview John Lasseter did with Autoweek on the occasion of Pixar's 2015 bi-annual Motorama car show, he gave a potential release date of summer 2018 or 2019.

Randy Newman revealed during an interview with The Advertiser in the February of 2016 that he will be the film's composer.

Lasseter later revealed on June 8, 2016, during an interview with Entertainment Weekly ' s Marc Snetiker, that Doc Hudson, a character from the first film who died before the second film, will be referenced several times in Cars 3.

On November 21, 2016, the first teaser trailer for Cars 3 was released on the Pixar YouTube channel. An extended teaser aired January 9, 2017.

A full trailer was released on April 26, and a one-minute sneak peek was revealed at the Radio Disney Music Awards.

A "Rivalry" trailer was released on May 10.

A clip showing Cruz's command assistant Hamilton was released on Lewis Hamilton's social media accounts on May 25.

Another clip showing McQueen and Storm was released on the Movieclips Trailers YouTube channel on June 6. It was then released on the Disney UK YouTube channel on June 14, and the Pixar YouTube channel on June 15.

A "The Limit" trailer was released on June 9.

A "My Senior Project" clip was first released on the Disney UK YouTube channel on June 14.

Soundtrack
Along with score by Randy Newman, there will be rock and pop songs, including "Ride" by ZZ Ward and Gary Clark Jr. The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Original Score Soundtrack will both be released on June 16, 2017.

Attached Short Film
The short film Lou, directed by Dave Mullins, will be attached to the theatrical release of Cars 3.

Cars 3: Driven to Win
In January 2017, after it was reopened and bought by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Avalanche Software confirmed a game based on the film. On April 5, 2017, the title of the game was revealed to be Cars 3: Driven to Win, and it will be released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in North America on June 13, Australia on June 14, and Europe on July 14.