Pixar’s surreal sci-fi space adventure Elio is set to be released in 2025, and hopes are high that it will help the studio recapture its old magic. One of a handful of upcoming Pixar movies on Disney’s release slate, Elio is about 11-year-old Elio Solis, a young boy who accidentally becomes the intergalactic ambᴀssador for planet Earth. With longtime Pixar writer Adrian Molina making his directorial debut for Elio, there are already a lot of signs the upcoming Pixar movie could be a return to form for the studio that has had more than a few cinematic stumbles of late.

While there haven’t been many Elio cast members revealed yet or much about the story beyond the basic premise, the teasers and behind-the-scenes reveals for the new Pixar movie have already gained attention — especially after 2023’s Elemental became a hit on Disney+. With a 2025 release date set by Disney and the first teaser footage already available, there’s plenty to discuss when it comes to Pixar’s Elio. It seems to be unlike anything the studio has produced before, which is exactly what makes it such an exciting upcoming attraction.

Elio: The Most Recent News

A New Trailer For Elio Is Revealed

Many months after the movie underwent some serious behind-the-scenes changes, the latest news arrives in the form of a new trailer for Elio. The full-length trailer finally illuminates more of the movie’s story, and introduces the тιтle character as a lonely boy who struggles to make friends. Instead, he hopes to be abducted by aliens, a wish that actually comes true when he becomes Earth’s ambᴀssador. However, Elio soon finds himself at the center of an intergalactic incident, and he must use his wits to stop an all-out war.

Elio: When Is The Pixar Movie’s Release Date?

Pixar’s Elio Premieres In The Summer Of 2025

The Elio release date is June 20, 2025. While the new Pixar movie was originally scheduled to release in March 2024 ahead of the release of the blockbuster Inside Out 2, it was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. There is no word yet about whether the movie will simultaneously be available on Disney+ or when the movie will otherwise hit streaming.

Who Is In The Cast Of Pixar’s Elio

Zoe Saldaña Has Joined The Cast

The Elio cast has only been partially revealed. America Ferrera was originally set to voice Elio’s mom, Olga Solis, who works on a top-secret military project. However, she has since stepped away from the project due to scheduling conflicts, and has been replaced by Zoe Saldaña. Saldaña will play Elio’s aunt, who is also named Olga, and will presumably fill the same spot in the storyline.

Meanwhile, Yonas Kibreab has the тιтle role, a young boy who is mistakenly accepted as the ambᴀssador for Earth and whisked away to an alien world. Two more Elio cast members have been revealed, and Jameela Jamil joins Brad Garrett who will play Ambᴀssador Questa and Ambᴀssador Grigon, respectively. The characters are two alien ambᴀssadors that Elio meets at a strange, interplanetary location. Remy Edgerly plays the role of Glordon, a young alien who is the son of Ambᴀssador Grigon, and forms a close bond with Elio.

The known cast of Elio includes:

Actor	Elio Role
Yonas Kibreab	Elio Solis
Zoe Saldaña	Olga Solis
Brad Garrett	Lord Grigon
Jameela Jamil	Ambᴀssador Questa
Remy Edgerly	Glordon

Elio: What Is The Pixar Movie’s Plot?

Elio’s Story Has Been Tweaked In The Last Few Years

Elio has been subtly tweaked in the last few years since the movie was first revealed, and the plot has changed somewhat to accommodate those changes. The film follows the тιтle character, a young boy who struggles to fit in, who wants nothing more than to be whisked away from Earth by aliens. He eventually gets that wish and is made Earth’s ambᴀssador in some sort of interplanetary alien congress. This was the basic plot from day one, but more details have come forward since.

Elio will befriend a young alien named Glordon, who is the son of Ambᴀssador Grigon. Unfortunately, Grigon has some sort of grievance with the interplanetary council and is threatening to blow the entire thing up. Now, Elio must team up with Glordon to help stop Grigon’s plan. Along the way, Elio will learn a thing or two about growing up, and it’s expected that the film will have plenty of Pixar’s signature charm.

Pixar has released an official plot synopsis for Elio, which is as follows:

For centuries, people have called out to the universe looking for answers—in Disney and Pixar’s all-new movie Elio, the universe calls back! The original feature film introduces Elio, an underdog with an active imagination who finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambᴀssador to the rest of the universe, and completely unprepared for that kind of pressure, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, survive a series of formidable trials and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.

Elio: Watch The Movie’s Trailers Below

Pixar Has Released A Full Trailer For Elio

The new Elio trailer sees Elio sucked into outer space after chaos erupts at his mother’s work, and he’s mistaken for the leader of Earth by aliens. While it isn’t clear why, Earth is seemingly on trial when Elio meets with other aliens at the interplanetary location, and it’s up to the boy to save humankind. However, it isn’t all end-of-the-world stakes, as Elio bonds with one alien who also has a strained relationship with his aunt. Based on the trailer, Elio promises one of the most colorful and spectacular-looking Pixar movies in years.

Over a year after the first teaser appeared, Disney dropped a second teaser for Elio in November 2024. Following a similar structure as the first, the teaser introduces the daydreaming Elio who gets more than he bargained for when he is abducted by aliens. Amazed at their magnificent world, Elio explores the extraterrestrial with a bit more trepidation than in the first teaser.

Pixar finally released a full trailer for Elio in March 2025, and it shows just how much the movie has changed over the years. It opens with Elio pining to be abducted by aliens, however he isn’t quite sure how to react when he is actually taken to space to be Earth’s ambᴀssador. Once there, he makes friends with a young alien and must stop the dastardly Ambᴀssador Grigon from blowing everything up (literally).