Even before the first game hits shelves Epic Mickey creator Warren Spector has already stated that he plans to make a sequel. “I’ve been pretty upfront that I have no interest at all in doing something that’s just a one shot,” he said. “Certainly it has been conceived as something that could become a franchise because that’s all I’m interested in doing. Not because I want to build a brand and make a ton of money but because there are so many stories to tell. Whether that actually happens is way above my pay grade.”
Would Nintendo and Disney dare plan for a series of games starring one of the world’s most popular characters? Especially after early critical buzz has the game pegged as one of the best Wii titles of the year, if not ever? No, surely they wouldn’t be so overly-ambitious to do such a thing, both companies are far to humble for that.
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In all seriousness, the powers that be probably conceived this whole endeavor as at least a trilogy before they invested even a cent in creating Epic Mickey. Practically all games are made with sequels in mind these days, as companies are understandably far more comfortable sinking cash into established franchises than there are creating whole new IPs. While there’s a minor risk in creating Epic Mickey in the first place there’s virtually no risk in sketching out a story arc stretching over a series of games in the even the inaugural title is a success. At least with Spector’s comments they know they have a creative director who’s in it for the long haul.
All that remains now is to wait and see if Epic Mickey is a property deserving of a sequel at all. We’d really love to see a great game starring Mickey and this title seems poised to take those honors, but it’s still too early to know for sure if Spector got it right on the first try. Just try and look surprised when Disney announces the sequel sometime next year, we’d hate for them to find out that we already know about it, it would be like telling them Mickey is actually just some guy in a costume.
