Cars 2

thumb|300px|The Cars 2 official trailer.

Cars 2 (also known as Cars 2: World Grand Prix) will be Pixar Animation Studios' twelfth animated feature film and is the sequel to Cars. It will also be Pixar Animation Studios' first sequel that doesn't have to do with Toy Story, and the third Pixar film to have a sequel. The film will be directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Brad Lewis. Denise Ream will produce the film and Michael Giacchino will compose the score. The film will be released on June 24, 2011. The movie is currently in production.

As described in the Disney press release:

"All the world's a racetrack as racing superstar Lightning McQueen zooms back into action, with his best friend Mater in tow, to take on the globe's fastest and finest in this thrilling high-octane new installment of the "Cars" saga. Mater and McQueen will need their passports as they find themselves in a new world of intrigue, thrills and fast-paced comedic escapades around the globe. "Cars 2" is being directed by Brad Lewis, producer of the Oscar®- winning film "Ratatouille.""

Plot
Lightning McQueen and Mater take their friendship to exciting new places when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains, and international racing competitors.

Voice cast
If you add voice actors, you must provide official source or it will be removed.
 * Owen Wilson: Lightning McQueen
 * Larry the Cable Guy: Mater
 * Michael Caine: Finn McMissile
 * Emily Mortimer: Holly Shiftwell
 * Jason Isaacs: Siddeley
 * Thomas Kretschmann: Professor Z
 * Joe Mantegna: Grem
 * Peter Jacobson: Acer
 * Tony Shalhoub: Luigi
 * Guido Quaroni: Guido
 * Paul Dooley: Sarge
 * Lloyd Sherr: Fillmore
 * John Ratzenberger: Mack
 * Michael Wallis: Sheriff
 * Bonnie Hunt: Sally
 * Jenifer Lewis: Flo
 * Katherine Helmond: Lizzie

Production
Cars 2 was originally scheduled for a 2012 release, but Pixar moved the release up a year.

John Lasseter conceived the sequel's story while traveling around the world promoting the first film. "I kept looking out thinking, 'What would Mater do in this situation, you know?' I could imagine him driving around on the wrong side of the road in the UK, going around in big, giant traveling circles in Paris, on the autobahn in Germany, dealing with the motor scooters in Italy, trying to figure out road signs in Japan.", he said.

In 2009, Disney registered several domain names in relation to the title World Grand Prix.

Three voice actors of the original Cars have also passed away since the first film had been released. Joe Ranft, who voiced Red and Jerry the Peterbilt, died in a car accident in 2005 during production of the first film. No confirmation has been made who the new replacement for Red will be or if he will be written out of the sequel. George Carlin, who voiced Fillmore, died of heart failure in June, 2008. However, Fillmore was voiced by Mark Silverman in Cars Race-O-Rama and archive recordings of Carlin were used for his voice in the Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales episode, "Unidentified Flying Mater." No confirmation has been made if Silverman will be Carlin's new replacement or if Fillmore will be written out of the sequel. Paul Newman, who voiced Doc Hudson, died in September, 2008 after losing an ongoing cancer battle. Lasseter was at first adamant that Newman would return, though he had announced his retirement from acting. After Newman's death, he said they would "see how the story goes with Doc Hudson". However, Doc Hudson was voiced by Corey Burton in Cars Race-O-Rama. No confirmation has been made if Burton will be Newman's new replacement or if Doc will be written out of the sequel.

Marketing
The first teaser trailer for Cars 2 will appear on the Blu-ray and DVD editions of Toy Story 3 when it is released on November 2, 2010.

Attached short film
Hawaii, a new short film about Barbie and Ken wanting to go on vacation to Hawaii will be attached to Cars 2.

Toys
It was announced that Cars 2 characters would join the Die-Cast line of collectable toys. Several characters have already been announced, including Holley Shiftwell and Finn McMissile.

In late 2010, several prototype die-cast toys were leaked on to the internet and were being sold on eBay. They were quickly removed by Mattel, however.