Rickey the Wicked: Alaxesis

Rickey the Wicked: Alaxesis is an upcoming 3D American computer-animated supernatural dark fantasy adventure film directed by Brad Bird based on the animated series Rickey the Wicked and serves as the sequel to Rickey the Wicked Witch of the City. The film will be directed and written by Brad Bird, who also created the series and returning to direct after directing the previous film while also being the first film in the franchise to be fully animated in stylized CGI rather than traditional 2D animation. It features the reprised TV series voices of Candi Milo, Charlie Adler, B.J. Ward, Scott Menville, Frank Welker, Jim Cummings, and Ashley Johnson as well as the new voices of Jennifer Hale (replacing Desirée Goyette), Fred Tatasciore (replacing Tony Jay following his death in 2005), Robert Englund, Tiffany Haddish, Daniel Radcliffe, and Keegan-Michael Key.

Following the success of Witch of the City, Bird postponed development on a sequel to work on other films at Pixar. After various videogames based on the franchise, Warner Bros. announced a revival/continuation as well as a sequel to the 2002 film with Bird returning to write and direct. He wrote it like a more modern fantasy film with more anime-like elements and opted to make a more darker story. Bird also decided to use computer-animation to give the characters an enhanced look and ultized newer animation styles and systems as well as borrowing animators from fellow sequel Incredibles 2 with the focus being on sibling rivalry.

The film is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures on October 6, 2023 in IMAX and 3D formats, the first film in the franchise to do so.

Synopsis
Taking place after the events of the first film, Rickey and Becky are now in a good relationship as well as the town of Angelville being peaceful after Rickey defeats Beck and turns him back good while months later a new terror comes out and kidnaps Wendy. Now Rickey, Noah, and Becky must go to the forbidden city Alaxesis in order to save her.

Cast

 * Candi Milo as:
 * Rickey Diablo / Rickey the Wicked, an apathetic yet smart teenage witch who wants to use his powers for good.
 * Grandma Diablo, the grandmother of Rickey. She took over the role from June Foray after her death in 2017.
 * Charlie Adler as Wade Diablo, the father of Rickey.
 * B.J. Ward as Merril Diablo, Rickey's mother.
 * Fred Tatasciore as Beck Diablo, the grandfather of Rickey. He was previously voiced by Tony Jay in the previous film and the original TV series,
 * Scott Menville as Noah Wilcox, Rickey's mortal best friend who is aware that Rickey is a witch.
 * Frank Welker as Cerberus, Rickey's pet black cat who can talk.
 * Jennifer Hale as Becky Williams, a teenage cheerleader and Rickey's love interest. She was previously played by Desirée Goyette in the original TV series and in the previous film.
 * Jim Cummings as Bella, Rickey's pet dog that can talk.
 * Ashley Johnson as Wendy Diablo, the younger witch sister of Rickey.
 * Willem Dafoe as Grinsnot, the proclaimed "legendary witch" who is apathetic. Dafoe reprises his role from the original film.
 * Robert Englund as Letemis del Toro, the deadly witch ruler of Alaxesis who the father of Driscoll Victor and his alter ego Death.
 * Daniel Radcliffe as Driscoll Victor / Death, the powerful yet timid son of Letemis del Toro who has a deranged alternate personality which unleashes the darkness in him dubbed Death.
 * Jason Genao as Earthan Graves, the immature yet brave teenage grim reaper of Darkville who has just recently acquired the position.
 * Keegan-Michael Key
 * Jordan Peele
 * Tiffany Haddish
 * Zendaya
 * Klay Thompson
 * Glen Powell
 * Brad Bird as Lucky, an ordinary dog who mutates into a hobgoblin.
 * Jeff Bennett as Lenny Wilds, Rickey's nerd classmate

Development
Following Rickey the Wicked Witch of the City, Brad Bird directed his next film for Pixar, The Incredibles, which was released in November 2004. Near its premiere, Bird said he was open to an idea of a sequel and continuation to Rickey the Wicked, but only if it could be better than the original. He stated, "I have pieces that I think are good, but I don't have them all together." In an August 2011 interview, Bird reiterated his interest in a sequel: "I have been thinking about it. People think that I have not been, but I have—because I love those characters, and love that world ... I have many, many elements that I think would work really well in another Rickey film, and if I can get 'em to click all together, I would probably wanna do that." While publicizing the first film, Bird had already conceptualized the eventual approach where Rickey would travel to the forbidden land of Alaxesis to rescue one of his close friends while discovering new secrets and powers of his own.

In July 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. Pictures was developing a supernatural-themed animated film about witches, and that Brad Pitt was on board as a producer and star. However, Deadline Hollywood debunked rumors that the film was a sequel to Rickey the Wicked Witch of the City. In November 2015, Candi Milo said in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" that she was ready and willing to return for a sequel as Rickey Diablo. She also said the rest of the cast including Charlie Adler, B.J. Ward, Scott Menville, Frank Welker, Jennifer Hale, Jim Cummings, June Foray, and Jesse Douglas were all interested in reprising their respective roles although the death of Tony Jay could affect it, but stressed that Warner Bros. had yet to greenlight any sequel, encouraging fans of the original film and series to persuade Warner Bros. to make one. In November 2016, Mil ostated in a Facebook Q&A that "after all these years and all the fan demand, I do believe I can stand and firmly say an unequivocal no" in response to a question about a sequel. Also in December 2016, in an interview, director Brad Bird discussed rumors of sequel and stated "due to my focus on Pixar and Incredibles 2, the answer is no as of right now."

In June 2017, actor Jim Cummings mentioned that Warner Bros. had been considering a sequel, and behind the scenes discussions were in place to possibly continue the series. However that same month, actress June Foray, who plays Grandma Diablo passed away which caused trouble in a possible sequel. In October 2017, while promoting Teen Titans Go!, Scott Menville was asked by Brad Bird about a sequel. His response was "I would love that. I think we've been very vocal that we're very keen", yet he insisted that fans should encourage Warner Bros. to develop a sequel. In November 2017, Bird revealed that he was writing a script for a possible sequel.

In February 2019, Bird revealed that there had been talks to do a sequel and with a script ready, though he admitted that he was still interested in bringing back the old cast as well. Bird also insisted that he had a few "tricks and surprises" in the film as well as going to the city Alaxesis for the sequel.

In September 2019, a sequel along with a revival series was officially announced with the revival being released in 2024 and the movie in 2023. Bird stated that the sequel will also take place after the original film while also having a darker tone than the first one with moments he stated that "could rival a PG-13 rating". He also clarified his hopes of the film giving fans of the franchise a nice return to its roots as well as bringing in new fans.

Casting
The main cast of the television series reprised their roles for Rickey the Wicked: Alaxesis. However, due to the deaths of Tony Jay in 2005 and June Foray in 2017, the respective characters of Beck Diablo and Grandma Diablo, were respectively voiced by Fred Tatasciore and Candi Milo.In addition to the series' cast, it was reported on March 23, 2020, that Robert Englund was added to the cast in a undisclosed role. By 2021, ahead of the announcement of his reprise as Green Goblin in Spider Man: No Way Home, it was announced that Willem Dafoe would be reprising his role as Grinsnot from The Wicked Witch of the City as well as stating that the character will stand out more with his mentor/father-figure relationship being more strengthened. In March 2022, Keegan-Michael Key was added to the cast while Tiffany Haddish was added in June 2022 and Glen Powell was added in September 2022. On September 21, 2022, the film was officially titled Rickey the Wicked: Alaxesis with Bird insisting that the film will keep it's horror and adventure element along with it's dark humor like the original film and the series. On November 14, 2022, Zendaya and basketball player Klay Thompson were added to the cast.

Animation
Bird stated that the film would be in stylized CGI rather than the traditional animation that the first film had although he also stated that 2D animation would also be used as well. In January 2021, veteran Walt Disney Animation Studios animators Mark Henn, Tony Bancroft, and the latter's brother Tom were hired by Warner Animation Group to work on the film with BIrd also being the animation director once again. Bird trained the animators to animate the film similar to his other long-awaited sequel for Disney Incredibles 2 while including realistic fibers as well as realistic backgrounds.

To train the animators, Brad Bird had to reanimate the characters from scratch due to the jump from traditional to CGI animation. It including giving more realistic fibers and skin tones to the characters while keeping the style of animation similar to traditional animation.

On October 1, 2022, it was announced that the film will feature scenes formatted for IMAX with its aspect ratio opening up to 1.90:1 in certain scenes using virtual IMAX cameras similar to Lightyear.

The budget is reportedly $180 million, the most expensive for Warner Animation Group.

Music
On September 18, 2022, it was announced that Michael Giacchino, who composed the scores for The Incredibles (2004) and Incredibles 2 (2018), both also directed by Bird, will compose the score for the film after the death of Ennio Morricone in 2020, the composer for the original film although it was stated that some pieces from the original film will be used.

Release
The film is scheduled to be theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on October 6, 2023 in IMAX theaters and 3D formats. The film was originally scheduled to be released on October 13, before moving up a week.

Marketing
The film's official teaser trailer was attached to screenings of Black Adam and was posted online on October 25, 2022. The film received 245.6 million views in the first 24 hours of its release, the biggest for a film by Warner Animation Group and Warner Bros. Pictures in general. Many commentators noted the good transition to 3D animation rather than traditional animation that the previous forms of media in the franchise was animated in. Austen Goslin at Polygon conversely felt much of what had been rumored did not get revealed in the trailer, feeling that the rumors were either false or Warner Bros. was still intending to keep them a secret. Entertainment Weekly 's Devan Coggan noted that the trailer confirmed the return of certain one-shot characters, in the series, as well as the fan-favorite characters while Ethan Anderton from /Film called the trailer "nothing short of thrilling" since it confirmed many of the previous rumors about the film. Additionally, Funko Pops for the film were also revealed a day after. Warner Bros. stated that the film is the most lucrative release of their cennential anniversary.