(Updated 03/20/2025)
Many kids dream of going to space, but it’s only in the movies that they get there. Pixar’s upcoming ELIO takes the idea to an extreme that goes further than many other movies. Elio is a young boy who, lacking friends, dreams of being whisked away by aliens. When he is miraculously transported to deep space, he's mistaken for Earth's ambassador to the universe — and that's just the beginning of his troubles.
Most of us would insist that we’re not in a position to represent the entire planet, and that is exactly what Elio does… at least at first. Soon, he leans into the mistaken identity scenario and finds himself on a journey of personal discovery and intergalactic adventure. Here is the latest trailer and casting info for Pixar’s ELIO.
When Does Elio Come Out?
Disney and Pixar will release ELIO exclusively in movie theaters on June 20, 2025.
Watch the New Elio Trailer
The new trailer for ELIO is delightful as it introduces a lonely kid with big dreams and then pushes that setup literally out into space. After desperately trying to get the attention of beings from beyond our Solar System, Elio seizes the chance to send a message to deep space. The answer he receives sets off a chain of events that pushes the kid to new heights.
Elio Was Begun By the Co-Director of Coco
Adrian Molina joined Pixar in 2007, having been a fan of movies like MONSTERS, INC. when he was in high school. Since then has been involved in several of the studio's biggest and best movies. He worked on RATATOUILLE and TOY STORY 3, which put him in the position to write and co-direct the smash hit, COCO. That gave him some leeway to sort out his next project.
Molina started to work on the idea that became ELIO just after COCO; his "next film" was mentioned back in 2018 after COCO took the Best Animated Movie Oscar. But ELIO was not formally revealed until September 2022 at the D23 Expo.
The Director of Turning Red Is Also Working on Elio
In an unusual turn of events, Adrian Molina had to step away from ELIO, though he retains director credit. Domee Shi, director of Pixar's fan-favorite TURNING RED, is also credited as director, along with Madeline Sharafian, who made Pixar's short film “Burrow.” Pixar movies often have a director and co-director setup, which is more or less what Shi and Sharafian are doing.
Pixar head Pete Docter said in August 2024 that their efforts have really been brought to bear on Elio himself. "I can’t really even talk about it without giving away plot points," Docter said, "but I think they’ve made some major discoveries on him that really helped the audience to connect and to move forward with the character into the second act, which is, course, where all the meat happens.”
Who's in the Cast of Elio?
We'll learn more about ELIO as the movie's release gets closer, but right now we only know about six cast members. Yonas Kibreab voices the title character, Elio Solis, a one-eyed eleven-year-old boy. Zoe Saldaña voices Elio's aunt — which is one change that has been made in the last few months. (Originally the main adult character was Elio's mother.)
Remy Edgerly voices Glordon, one of the primary aliens in the movie, and Brad Garrett voices Lord Grigon, the father of Glordon. Jameela Jamil voices Ambassador Questa, and Shirley Hendersonvoices another alien, named OOOOO. Given the collection of extra-terrestrial characters in the movie, we expect to see the reveal of many more talents over the next few months.
ELIO opens on June 20.
All images courtesy of Pixar.