‘Inside Out 2’ Teaser: Maya Hawke Wreaks Havoc as Anxiety

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
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Maya Hawke is bringing out the awkward tween emotion that Gen Zers know all too well: anxiety.

Hawke stars in “Inside Out 2,” the sequel to the 2015 Oscar-winning Pixar film. The Disney movie won Best Animated Feature and was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay, one of only four Pixar films to be nominated in that category. (“Ratatouille,” “WALL-E,” and “Up” are the other three.)

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While Academy Award winner Pete Docter does not return to write or direct “Inside Out 2,” the original cast is back in full force, with Amy Poehler playing Joy, Phyllis Smith voicing Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Tony Hale playing Fear, and Liza Lapira starring as Disgust, all voices inside growing tween Riley’s head.

Now, Hawke’s Anxiety takes a wrecking ball to the inside of Riley’s mind as emotions bicker, battle, and tumble toward the confusing state of puberty. Kelsey Mann directs the film, which is produced by Mark Nielsen.

“Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke, might be new to the crew, but she’s not really the type to take a back seat,” Mann said in a press statement. “That makes a lot of sense if you think about it in terms of what goes on inside all our minds.”

Per the official synopsis, Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.

Actress Hawke recently starred in father Ethan Hawke’s “Wildcat,” which she also produced. Hawke portrays author Flannery O’Connor in a homage to her novels. Hawke additionally led buzzy high school Netflix satire “Do Revenge.” She is also returning to “Stranger Things” for the fifth and final season, during which Hawke teased she hopes her character has a fatal “hero’s moment.” Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” marks Hawke’s first animated film.

“Inside Out 2” premieres in June 2024 in theaters. Check out the teaser below.

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