While many of us grew up with culturally diverse animated stories such as Lilo and Stitch and Mulan, they were still quite isolated inclusivity-wise so Blue Sky Studios’ hilarious but also heartwarming adventure film was definitely a huge step forward both for the industry and the studio.
Director Carlos Saldanha is also responsible for other beloved masterpieces such as Ferdinand and Ice Age so it’s no surprise “Rio” has continued to be so popular throughout the last decade.
“Rio” tells the story of a tamed blue macaw by the name of Blu and explores his life in the colorful city of Rio de Janeiro, hence the title.
As a result, the animated movie is not only a sweet love story with extinct species at the center but also an incredible celebration of Brazil’s vibrant culture.
As you may or may not know, blue macaw parrots are an endangered species so the film was a unique reminder about this real-world issue, bringing awareness to the possible disappearance of these stunning birds at the time.
The sequel was appropriately released in 2014, a few months before the FIFA World Cup that took place in Rio de Janeiro.
Because two installments have been completed, many die-hard fans believe and hope that a third “Rio” movie will also be released at some point, turning into a series in the near future.
And given the fact that Saldanha and the actors have also expressed a desire to continue Blu’s story, it sounds like they might just be right!
With that being said, here are some speculations about the potential third installment of the series.
As fans know, in the original animated movie we find out that Blu was taken from Brazil by a young girl by the name of Linda as a newborn bird and she continues to care for him until maturity.
The story really begins when Blu and his friends get invited to Rio by naturalist Tulio so he can save his species from extinction by mating with the last female blue macaw in the world.
The ending is happy – the two birds are in the jungle, raising a family together!
The sequel starts right where the original left, exploring the family’s new mission of searching for other blue macaws in the Amazon.
What they manage to find is Jewel’s very own long-lost family and they all decide to remain in the Amazon but still plan to visit Rio during the summers.
And that’s where the story leaves off. We can only guess what a third installment would be about but it would only make sense that we’d be able to see into the big happy family’s life in the Amazon.
Naturally, the title being “Rio,” it’s safe to assume we’ll also get to see that summer trip to the colorful city.
The actors of “Rio 2” previously told Cinema Blend what they would like to see in a third installment as well.
Jamie Foxx, who voices Nico, for instance, stated that he would like to see the parrot family go on a Miami adventure but Andy Garcia, who portrays Eduardo, disagreed.
No matter what happens, we can safety assume that Rio 3 would be another exciting story if the first two installments are any indication.
As for the release date, since another movie has not been officially announced yet or even discussed in the last couple of years, all we know is that the movie is not currently in the works.
However, since Saldanha just finished working on Ferdinand last year, it’s possible we may hear about his future projects soon enough.