The Mitchells Vs. The Machines Sequel: Director Jeff Rowe Won’t Return

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Netflix is making a sequel to their hit movie, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, but one of the original creators won’t be involved. The first film, released in 2021, followed a family from Michigan on a road trip to get their daughter to film school in Los Angeles. Their trip was interrupted when a robot apocalypse began, caused by an AI taking control of the world’s machines.

The animated film The Mitchells vs. the Machines boasts a fantastic cast, including Abbi Jacobson (from A League of Their Own), Danny McBride (The Righteous Gemstones), and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live). Its journey to release was quite a story: Sony originally planned a 2020 theatrical release with a different title, but then sold the film to Netflix during the pandemic, and the original title was reinstated. When it premiered on Netflix in early 2021, it was a huge success, earning a remarkable 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and becoming the streamer’s most popular animated film at the time.

Four years after the popular release of Mitchells vs. the Machines, Netflix announced they were making a sequel, with many of the original creators involved. However, Jeff Rowe, one of the film’s original co-directors, recently told ScreenRant that he won’t be returning for the sequel. He explained that his commitment to working on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies for Paramount is the reason he’s unable to participate.

I’m completely focused on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles these days. I feel like they’re my kids, my mentors, and my family – they really are my whole world. I’m especially confident in Mike and Guillermo [Martinez], our former head of story. Guillermo is a truly gifted and hilarious storyteller, and I know he’ll do an amazing job with the new project. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

Michael Rowe, known for his work on Disney’s Gravity Falls and Netflix’s Disenchantment, directed his first feature film with The Mitchells vs. the Machines. He teamed up again with Mike Rianda, who originally created the idea for the movie. Rianda drew inspiration from his own childhood road trips and fascination with robots, and then brought Rowe on board to co-write the script.

Following the success of The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Aaron Rowe is now the lead director for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, starting with 2023’s Mutant Mayhem. He also has a deal with Paramount Animation to develop future projects. Beyond directing, Rowe produced this year’s Chrome Alone 2 short, which will be shown before The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. He’s currently working on a sequel to Mutant Mayhem, scheduled to be released in September 2027.

Considering how much he’s working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it’s understandable that Rowe won’t be involved in the sequel to The Mitchells vs. the Machines. Animated movies take years to make, and unlike Pixar or Disney, which have established creative teams, Rowe would have been stretched thin trying to work at two studios with very different groups if he’d returned for the Netflix film.

Netflix is committed to continuing its animated content, especially following the success of Mitchells vs. the Machines and its strong partnership with Sony Pictures Animation. The 2021 film, though it didn’t win the Best Animated Feature Oscar (losing to Encanto), was just the beginning of their collaboration. They’ve also released the popular Wish Dragon (which is getting a sequel) and Vivo, all in 2021, and plan to produce more together.

Most notably, this collaboration resulted in the huge success of KPop Demon Hunters, which became Netflix’s most popular animated show and their most-watched title ever, even surpassing The Mitchells vs. the Machines. This achievement has now confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters 2 is in development, with an expected release in 2029.

Even though fans of the first movie might be sad to see Michael Rowe not returning, the sequel to The Mitchells vs. the Machines still has many of the original creative team members involved. Guillermo Martinez, who headed the story department on the first film, is now co-directing this sequel – his first time directing – alongside JP Sans, known for The Bad Guys 2. The writing is being handled by the Molyneux sisters, who also work on Bob’s Burgers and The Great North, and Rianda, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Kurt Albrecht are all producing. Because the team is full of people who understand the franchise and have a strong track record with similar projects, Rowe’s work on TMNT shouldn’t affect the quality of the Netflix sequel.

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2025-12-06 22:48