Cars on the Road, the newest installation in the Cars franchise, has set a September 8th release date on Disney+, per a press release from Disney+. As previously announced, the series will feature the voices of Academy Award nominee Owen Wilson (Loki) and Larry the Cable Guy (A Madea Christmas), who will be reprising their roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater, respectively.
The series is directed by Steve Purcell (Brave), who directed episodes 1, 2, and 8; Bobby Podesta (Soul), director of episodes 5, 6, and 9; and Brian Fee (Monsters University), who directed episodes 3, 4, and 7. Academy Award winner Marc Sondheimer (WALL-E) produced the series, and Jake Monaco (Flora & Ulysses) served as composer for all nine episodes.
Purcell commented on the show’s content, stating, “The series is a romp across the country with Lightning McQueen and Mater. Like any real road trip, every day is a new mini-adventure with unexpected twists and turns.” Cars on the Road will release concurrently with Disney Day, a fan event from the Disney franchise in Anaheim, California, and presented by Visa. In celebration of the event, Disney+ will host exclusive fan experiences and debut content from several Disney brands, including Disney, Marvel, National Geographic, Pixar, and Star Wars.
Cars on the Road marks the third television installment of the Cars franchise. In 2012, Disney/Pixar premiered a series of short films titled Car Toons: Mater’s Tall Tales that released three seasons of a combined eleven episodes. Later, in 2013, Disney/Pixar premiered Tales from Radiator Springs, a series that lasted five short episodes between 2013 and 2017. The series featured a voice cast including four-time Emmy Award winner Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Emmy Award nominee Bonnie Hunt (Toy Story 4), Michael Wallis (Voices of History), and Jenifer Lewis (Black-ish), among others.
Disney+ and Pixar have yet to confirm which additional Cars characters will return for Cars on the Road.