If Randall does return in the sequel, maybe his story can be about redemption. But if he does team up with mike and sulley in the sequel, I pray to god pixar won’t pull the “revealing true colors” thing. That’s already been done in the toy story sequels and up, and if they do it again then it will become a bit of a cliche.
As we say down South, “You got THAT right!” I don’t want Pixar to fall into a predictable pattern. A big part of the reason I’ve been a fan of Pixar is due to their originality and pleasant surprises, but when they start to fall into a repetive mode, with regards to plots, that would not be a good thing. Of course, many fans won’t care, or even notice, as long as it’s Pixar, but I’m not one of those blind followers. True fans must continue to challenge Pixar, and the people who work for them must challenge themselves, to explore new themes and break out of that mold of predictability that I’m already seeing them fall into.
pitbulllady
I see Randal wanting to seek revenge on Mike and Sully. They are, after all, the reason he wound up in the trailer of terror.
IF Pixar goes that route, I see Pixar becoming the next Scooby Doo knock-off studio, a bigger version of every cheap Saturday morning cartoon ever made…suspended mid-jump over a large shark tank. If they can’t do any better than that, they need to lock up and go home and hand their former key to success to Dreamworks. Even the stable of Shrek sequels can manage something more original than that.
pitbulllady
For some reason, I imagined Randall coming back while bringing other banished monsters with him and forming an organised crime group. He uses them to get back at Sulley and Mike. I don’t think that would be such a good idea though. Just my imagination. 
I completely agree with you on that. I only meant to say that I think the characater of Randal would probably want revenge, not that I think this is the main plot Pixar is focusing on.
I would have to agree that would probably sound a little repetative of a plot…also, if you don’t mind me saying, love your avatar image, Knuckles is one of my fav STH characters along with Shadow as well. <3
Lol, yeah who doesn’t like knuckles? But back on topic, I think Randall becoming a good guy is the best way to go if he’s in the sequel. And the icing on the cake for me is that if he becomes friends with boo if she returns for the second film.
I’ve only seen a bit of the Sonic franchise stuff myself, but Knuckles seems interesting to me. Heh.
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In terms of the whole Randall returning for ‘revenge’ thing however it could just in general result in another plot hole or result in even further questions left unanswered which is something a sequel doesn’t want to do, even disregarding the whole idea of quality.
Randall has been in the human world for a year judging from Sulley’s clipboard. Let’s think more on that: a whole year.
So if revenge was such a huge incentive why isn’t he back already? What precisely is holding him back? I mean yeah, Lousiana is a mite more dangerous in terms of people compared to Nepal probably, but if the guy got out of the trailer and lived and was determined enough I’d give it… a few weeks? (And this is given the idea he got away and recovered enough)
I mean even if his blending got completely wacked out he still has other methods to sneak into houses. He’s generally pretty quiet when he sneaks. He can climb on walls. He’s REALLY fast. I could go on. Blending is an important part of how he scared kids, but such a power would probably mean little if he continually bangs into things with all the grace of an ox.
And heck…
Sulley got back pretty quickly didn’t he? Why? Because he loves Boo. THAT gave him incentive enough to risk is very LIFE to get back and almost kill himsef hurtling down the mountain. Further testament to this feeling in the whole door chase scene. Sulley’s incentive is Boo all summed up in getting back- he has to save her. Nothing will stop him from doing so. And through it he does get back. Let’s think on this here- if Randall is willing to risk his very LIFE or FREEDOM for… revenge… well why isn’t he back already?
Either Randall is being kept against his will (in which revenge against them is hardly a priority in that case and even after he escaped wouldn’t probably be for a little while) or the idea of taking revenge and only revenge just ISN’T enough for him to try. Oh he could have an incentive evntially to get back. Eventually. But he doesn’t seem to have been grabbed by it just yet. But what could that be?
He needs another incentive. Or his life in the human world is just really that bad that he’s willing to (almost suicidally) try and get revenge. A kind of ‘I’m going down and I’m taking you with me!’. Which is really depressing. .
Once again without being too generalistic here, Lousiana people>Nepal people in terms of being dangerous. (More guns for one). But Randall is nothing if not determined with goals. If they just have him show up to have revenge, not only will I be rolling my eyes for other reasons entitrely but I’ll be wondering in my head “WHERE THE -BEEP- HAS HE BEEN FOR A -BEEPIN- YEAR?!” (censored for delicate stomachs). And be incredibly peeved probably if this is completely skated over and they never answer that.
Having Randall come back to the story because of revenge and only that doesn’t really work that well in terms of believability if they want to keep Randall unsympathetic. Like a lot of people Randall has times when he seems (in nice terms) to have the blinkers on. But he’s not stupid. Going back to the monster world means prison at least. It makes it look like something really horrible has been happening in the human world to him, so horrible he can’t stick it and then goes really off the deep end and goes back. And maybe tries to get revenge along the way?
If Randall has some OTHER incentive or reason to get back then we could see him at the very least desiring revenge (who wouldn’t? No-one is completely free of that desire in my opinion) but it couldn’t be his only or heck even his main reason for going back. Truth is by trying to get revenge by going back Randall would be doing more of a disservice to himself in the end.
And if he somehow pulls some Saturday cartoon thing of ‘kidnapping Boo’ to tempt Sulley to HIM in the human world I’ll officially say that Pixar has lost it. Completely. I’ll be head desking until blood comes out of my ears probably.
Though the truth is I hate the vast majority of revenge stories because of how the writers treat the subject though. Any sequel with the ‘Revenge of Y’ in it shall probably make me want to retch because it’s bound to be terrible. Even when the stakes are big so many people treat it like it’s some kind of joke sometimes. In either ‘Woo X, the hero does it, isn’t it great’ or alternatively ‘Y tries for it and fails and makes his own situation even worse, isn’t he an idiot, let’s all point and laugh at his misfortune!’ They don’t even TRY to explore most of the time how people come to that point in their lives. That almost ANYONE can feel that way, and it’s not admirable (when heroes do it) or even in some media something only villians do or ever desire. (In terms of adult areas in the former and more kiddies Villians in the latter form it seems.).
The topic of revenge CAN be written well in its own way, taking into consideration what can drive people to it respectively no matter who they are as well as its major consequences etc. But I don’t like the ways people in fictional media often write it as- either something to be admired or either something to be merely mocked as something only ‘evil’ people can do and that no-one could be tempted to do it. It’s really neither. It’s not sweet, it’s bitter even IF the whole concept seemed to come from some weird karma/unseen hand thing rather than anything you did. Even wishing harm and then it happening from just a case of bad luck rather than by your own hand can result in horrendous consequences for your psyche. Trust me. I know.
Revenge no doubt could be a good topic for almost any movie to explore to a degree, but I can’t take the way most media protrays it- as either of the two forms I just wrote.
If they have Randall wanting/being tempted or heck even attempting revenge I’d really just hope they wouldn’t turn it into some stupid joke or just a way to up his ‘evil index’ or whatever. Desiring something bad to happen to someone can REALLY eat you up and can be quite an obsessive and self destuctive force and the only way I can see after a year of being away of Randall doing it NOW is if he’s really really in a bad way, so bad that probably his life and freedom don’t even play a part in his decision at all. I mean how much self loathing would you have to have to get to that point?
The only other way I could see revenge otherwise would be- he has another goal and the opportunity ‘presents’ itself along the way (because he’s rightfully angry). It could be distracting for a moment at least, but I’m not sure how else they could make it believable without the whole ‘driven to the absolute limit’ thing where even his own life doesn’t seem to matter anymore.
I remember in South Park “Something Walmart This Way Comes”, Cartman was “working with the good guys”, but one of them continually said he was going to betray them. And when Cartman DID, gets all childish in saying they had no idea.
To be honest that’s a good interpretation of the “revealing true colors” method. It’s been done, and you kinda can expect it. Not very creative. Usually it’s a good guy who turns bad. I mean in his current situation, there’s going to be little trust between Randall and the others at first. In fact Randall might be thinking THEY’D betray HIM if they worked together.
As for revenge…Randall would likely be keen on that at the start, love70, regardless of most plots. With what happened, he’d likely take the aggressive route at first.
Ho-oh boy. And wait till he learns that Sullivan and Wazowski didn’t even get tried for what they did, and were even REWARDED. When he finds out Sullivan’s now CEO, he is going to be TICKED.
Interesting idea Geoff. In fact I had a similiar idea bubbling in my mind along with a gallery of fine M.I. stories.
There’s a sorta mystery to Banishment in itself. While in court, Monsters are banished through “Banishment Doors”, which we see Waternoose has somehow obtained one, it seems the unjustful version of the sentence (such as what occured to Randall) is still possibly. Many Banished monsters might not even be criminals or such.
As for a crime organization…well Randall’s smart…but he’s already been stabbed in the back twice, so doubt he’d work with partners so easily. It is an interesting idea though, considering the C.D.A. would likely be turned into a crime agency. Ha. Randall V.S. Roz. That WOULD be interesting considering Roz probably “swept what happened to him under the carpet” sorta speak so Sullivan and Wazowski didn’t go to jail.
As for Boo…
Well of course she has to be at least a year older since that’s when she was last…well technically “heard”, but lets just say seen. She could be older of course.
But anyways, with Boo and Randall. There is a GOOD plot bit there. Sullivan is OVERPROTECTIVE of Boo. He is not her father, not her grandfather…a friend and maybe pseudo “uncle” perhaps…but all the same he is overprotective. And this is gonna land him in some hot water with Randall. If he even senses Randall might try to hurt her, which he hasn’t, he would go into “brawl mode”. We see this happen when he exiles Randall, voiding all sense of reason even when Randall wasn’t a threat at the time.
Randall might not have thought of Boo much in his exile. If they ever met again, it wouldn’t take too long to recall her, as she was involved in how he got exiled in the first place. He wouldn’t garner hate for her, he at least gets she was just a kid at the time, no idea what she was doing. And he didn’t aim to harm her at all as well. He would probably feel guilty for getting her involved in the first place. Part of him might defend on that matter, but hands down he’d still want to say “sorry” for something, even if he couldn’t pin it down.
Mental does have a point…but let me add something.
Randall WAS hurt rather harshly, we saw that. Probably has a several more scars and maybe even a broken limb or two, not to mention some severe head trauma. His blending ability, as said, might have suffered as well. (on a note, if he had lost that…he would be even more immensely angry at Sullivan because it was something that made him some-what unique, something he relied on, and more importantly, something Sullivan didn’t have).
Of course there ARE other circumstances. Production at M.I. SEEMED to HALT because of the scandal that went on. Would this mean, perhaps, that doorways to the factory were sealed for this duration? And when Laughter was implimented, which probably took months…well Randall would be looking for kids who were SCREAMING, not LAUGHING. He would have no idea of what was going on in his world.
There are MANY factors which can be worked with here. Perhaps he IS too wounded to try. Perhaps he IS looking, but with the change in energy collection is looking in the wrong place. Maybe he IS unable to because the factory had gone on hiatus. That’s just three.
Against his will? QUITE possible. If anybody ever captured him, which might be done if he was seriously hurt, he would be an interesting find.
As for GOING back and what it entails…that’s even more difficult to wonder. Randall knows that the Scream Extractor is done for…and from certain experience…he can guess that Sullivan and Wazowski could get out of the mess themselves.
Oui so much…basically…he might doubt he’d go to prison. If it was found out, at least in his POV, that Sullivan and Wazowski banished him…they could be convicted and sent to jail. So perhaps he’s lying low.
And there is of course the option that Randall actually IS back. Just not at the factory. Perhaps he’s actually just avoiding it all. Perhaps he’s living elsewhere trying to patch up his own life and avoiding the past. Maybe he’s struggling with the temptation FOR revenge.
When one really thinks about it…“returning just for revenge” SERIOUSLY pales into comparison to ALL the OTHER options that one would have for him.
I quite like the idea of ‘returning just for revenge’, but only if it’s used as a ploy. So Randall returns, seeming bent on revenge, trying with all his might to ruin Mike and Sulley’s lives, but then something changes and at the last moment, he does the opposite of what’s expected of him and changes tact. It would almost be a reverse Lotso or Prospector.
THAT’S what I want to see; it would probably come as a huge surprise to most fans(although us die-hard Randall fans know he’s got it in him), and thus would show that Pixar still has “the stuff” to make a great movie without falling into a pit of predictability. When you watch a movie half-way through, and you can pretty much figure out how it’s gonna end, it’s like sitting next to some loud-mouth who has already seen it three times already and considers it his duty to inform you what is going to happen(and you can’t put spoiler tags on people, unfortunately). If you already can figure out the ending, and how everyone turns out, it’s not really worth your hard-earned dollars(or whatever currency you use)to go see it. PLUS, for Pixar to go this route with Randall’s character, it would send a very positive message that people CAN change and turn their lives around, and there are other means of overcoming someone’s negative traits than just beating them up. Perhaps it will be the unconditional friendship of another cute little kid character which gives Randall a reason to “change tact”, as you put it, since whether or not Boo is in the sequel, I kinda doubt that Pixar will just give up on the whole “cute little kid” angle.
pitbulllady
I wouldn’t have him involved, i ain’t a fan of recurring villains 
Maybe as a cameo (like Sid), but not a flon villain, i like having different villains it’d fun to compare and contrast them and ponder whos my favourite etc 
Most of DO NOT want Randall to return as a “villain”. If he is going to be in the movie at all, I certainly would not want for Pixar to continue down that particular road, but to give him a chance to redeem himself. Randall wasn’t even the real villain in the movie; Waternoose was, yet Randall gets the worst of the punishment(illegally, I might add, assuming that there is any sort of justice in Monstropolis at all) of the two of them. Be that as it may, his fate and the fact that the ones who dealt it to him basically got by with what amounts to a lynching present a lot of “loose ends” that for ME, as well as many others, need to be “tied up”. Pixar is in danger of falling into that “Disney formula” of making movies, something that they swore they’d never do, in spite of their association with Disney. When it gets to the point that you can simply write a basic script, and sort of “plug in” different characters’ names as to who are the “Good Guys” and who is the “Bad Guy” and a different setting and different reasons for the conflict, but otherwise leave everything the same, that is hardly original, is it, whether or not the “Bad Guy” is a newbie or a repeat appearance? Pixar, as of yet, has NEVER, ever had a movie in which their “Bad Guy” undergoes a character arc for the better. The closest they’ve come to that is Lightning McQueen in Cars, who was a first-rate jerk to begin with, and [spoil]pretty boy Ken in TS3[/spoil]. It would be refreshing to focus, for once, on a character who is perceived already in a very negative light, and through that character’s experiences, show that people can and do change for the better and can turn themselves around, often with the influence of someone positive. I’m sure that Chris Sanders is not the only animation director out there who can pull that off(yes, I know he does not work for Pixar) convincingly and satisfyingly.
pitbulllady
Even if they somehow do redeem Randall, it’s still possible this movie won’t be great either though. It would definitly be a step in the right direction to me and all but there are other things to consider in order to make a great movie.
For instance the thing with the whole exile thing to begin with, they have to explain that to me too. I personally am interested in the theory that the CDA has special powers to veto certain laws in situations, that they have powers like that which meant Sulley and Mike didn’t get into trouble legally speaking. Not just with regards Boo, but that part too. They can cover things up after all pretty well in that regard. I’d likle to see that established or mentioned. The jury duty line was probably just a silly mistake, but why not run with it? The ending provides a lot of opportunities in this regard. I have a rather morbid fascination with the CDA on a higher level than even Waternoose. I would be scared of them and not like them if I met them but as part of a story and characters they are really excellent. So I’d like the CDA explored a little bit among other things.
I have a concern and stake in Sulley for instance, and I kind of think he would at the very least begin to doubt his actions in various areas both past and present. I could certainly see Sulley fearing being another Waternoose for instance, even though no matter what faults he might have he is not him.
Truth is the whole Randall exile thing is a huge plot hole and I realise that my interpretation does not fir the creators in regards Randall’s characters, they wanted it to be whole and complete in storyline, but this is standard it seems if we’re going by Up as another example, of throwing in scenes and lines and not thinking on the larger consequences it provides in World building in M.I.'s case or just things not generally making sense.
Up had less of these ‘fly in the face of logic’ scenes (bar the flying dogs, I DESPISE that scene for it threw me out of it completely and I couldn’t suspend my disbelief), but this seems to happen.
Of course with only two examples of him directing it’s kind of hard to establish a strong concrete pattern, if he provides a third movie with similar problems this idea I have would be more concrete maybe- but basically he seems to throw in scenes or allow scenes which are funny or for just general scene atmosphere without considering the wider ramifications on the story or the world he’s made. Whether it really makes sense or not. I’m pretty sure Randall is supposed to be seen as pure evil, but the thing is, the things just thrown in there for humour and effect really hurt that position in some ways. I can see EFFORT involved in making Randall seem pure evil (smiling when his enemies are in trouble etc.) but it just doesn’t work for me when looking at other things. Randall’s interest is something the creators didn’t intend, but hey it’s there for me regardless. Of course causual movie goers don’t think on this much. Granted on my first go, the first thing I mainly picked up on was the exile thing not making sense. And this was before I liked Randall at all. So it’s my personal desire to see this explained most of all and not swept under the rug or completely ignored.
Truth is as mentioned elsewhere by me, I’d like to be next to a casual fan who was pleasently surprised by Randall in some form, a kind of reverse Waternoose situation as it were, something which you might not have expected but makes sense in retrospect. It makes SENSE that Randall and Fungus could not have had the resources or money for that project among other things and that someone higher on the corporate ladder was in charge and provided that to them. Waternoose is an excellent anatagonist in the way is very creation decieves you. You think he might be just like Celia is for Mike in a way- another person for Sulley to interact with, but he turns out to be even more than that, and his betrayal is an emotional punch to the gut. Waternoose’s backstory is truely excellent in execution, you see bits and pieces of his character and it ties together, in the end he’ll do anything to save his company. He mentions this near when we first meet him and when he rants at Sulley towards the end. It’s a surprise and you were distracted and wondering about the mystery of the story and why Randall wanted Boo and then you get THAT.There were clues and hints but it was unexpected. But it made sense.
That’s kind of what I want for Randall. A surprise allegiance perhaps but one when you put the pieces together and rewatch, make SENSE. Randall’s turnaround does have to make sense, he can’t just suddenly turn around and be all butterflies and goodness and light. That’s just not him. And the general movie goer has to be thought about too. He has to realise what he wants, and that revenge is destructive. Perhaps he can even see this very fact in Sulley if he feels guilty, and the idea of the pair being an almost yin and yang of a full story arc is appealing to me. There is of course a right way of going about it. However given the likelihood that Randall being redeemable doesn’t fit the creators interpretation, that there was nothing dicey about the exile at all in the end, because the story WAS supossed to be absolutely complete means this is unfortunatly unlikely even with a new director.
The thing is there were mistakes in the first movie to me, mistakes they didn’t notice, but they could really run with the ideas which come from it. I wouldn’t want them to do an idea because it’s popular, but because they genuinely think it’s GOOD and makes sense. The first priority should be the story. Plus it seems original and different next to their other work. Sequels get a lot of grief, they have to really deliver on levels new material don’t.
It’s kind of odd but M.I. got me into the idea of world creation in some ways, even if the world I’m working on his more humourous Tolkein than Pete Docter. I kind of want to get it as right as possible…
Though of course mistakes will happen. They always do. And Up did have less logical hiccups. But I kind of want to guard against the whole inserting scenes just because I like them, if they completely disrupt the world or point I’m making, instead those scenes I write can help me get a feel of the characters if they don’t get into the draft at the very least.
Ahh, the bane of film…you can work with a good base, and still turn out wrong. Book-to-Film anybody? ^0^
It would be interesting to see this explained. Sullivan and Wazowski, and lets not forget Fungus, all get off SCOTT-FREE from the incident. This includes the involvement of a human child AND illegal banishment (among others, but those are for Fungus too). AND…lets all remember that despite the revealed fact that humans aren’t toxic (though much of the monster mass still believes this), the C.D.A. are still around.
AND, they were present at the company play. Why? IS there a thought that a fight would break out for some reason? WERE there any doors nearby being used? AND…the C.D.A. are called in with an AMAZING response time…so why are they already there?
If Sullivan is NOT affected by the pressures of CEO, a job he is not trained for and a position held by somebody who betrayed him, I will be disappointed. As for his past regrets…I would be disappointed as well if he doesn’t feel them. He IS a good person, and good people feel regrets.
It’s true that these bits and pieces we see were made with reason. They don’t fit into the prospect as being “fillers” because they don’t show him completely in “evil mode” as some would put it.
nods Randall was essentially focused on while Waternoose was looked aside…
Randall would probably take different routes than Sullivan would. I would see him more of an Anti-Hero more than a hero really. Sort of the “Riku of M.I.” as it were. (for those who don’t know, Riku is a young man from the Kingdom Hearts series who struggles with darkness in his heart and who leaves his friends and helps them behind the scenes for fear of the darkness controlling him).
I would love to see him come back, but I would really prefer to have Steve Buscemi to do his voice again.
If there’s one thing production-wise that Pixar does, it’s bringing back voice actors. I was slightly surprised that Tim Allen and uhh…the other guy came back to voice Woody and Buzz after so many years.
I’ve looked around and it’s been said that Goodman and Crystal are reprising their roles.
taps head Huh…that makes me wonder…if Steve hasn’t been called to reprise then…huh…
Personally I’m not too fussed about whether Randall returns or not, but I can see that he has a lot of fans, so I hope that he at least gets a cameo to keep his fans informed 
As long as his role fits into the film and doesn’t seem unnecessary or tacked-on then I’m okay. Oh! But I wouldn’t like it if they made him into some kind of supervillain or a really nice guy. I mean as long as they don’t make him do anything that wouldn’t fit in with his existing characterisation, I’m fine with it. If he becomes good in the second movie, then as long as his personality isn’t messed with too much it’ll be okay.