Shocking Image Reveals Riley’s Tombstone in ‘Inside Out 2’

Viral footage has sparked discourse on whether or not Riley Andersen, the protagonist of the Inside Out movies, dies in the new Pixar movie.

The Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation Studios can surely breathe a sigh of relief following the success of Inside Out 2 (2024). The Pixar sequel opened to a massive $155 million domestic weekend and $295 million globally.

Touted as a return to form for Disney and Pixar, Inside Out 2‘s successful box office numbers come after the studio flailed throughout the pandemic, and their big return to the theaters with Lightyear (2022) flatlined.

During the industry shutdown, Pixar released feature films solely on Disney+. Soul (2020), Luca (2021), and Turning Red (2022) went straight to the streamer despite theaters reopening long before that. Audiences’ faith in Pixar hit a new low when the studio brought back the Toy Story franchise with Lightyear.

Lightyear‘s rocky theatrical run became the center of a new “woke” controversy due to the inclusion of a same-sex kiss that got the animated film banned in various countries. This was after viewers turned red at Domee Shi’s Turning Red, thanks to discussions about adolescence and that tampon scene.

It looked like Pixar may be on a steep downward trend when 2023’s Elemental failed to open with bells and whistles. That said, Peter Sohn’s Elemental became a sleeper hit with international audiences, propelling the animated film to a global tally of $494 million.

And so, we return to Inside Out 2. Releasing nine years after the original Pixar film, Pete Docter’s Inside Out (2015), Inside Out 2 brings back Riley Andersen’s (Kensington Tallman) faithful emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), and Disgust (Liza Lapira).

But that’s not all. As Riley, played by Kaitlyn Diaz in the first movie, enters teenagehood and the world of high school, a whole host of new emotions come into play. Led by Maya Hawke’s Anxiety, this new wave of characters includes Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

In the real world, Kyle McLachlan and Diane Lane return as Riley’s parents, with Lilimar playing the new character, Valentina “Val” Ortiz.

While Inside Out proved to be a tearjerker (“Take her to the moon for me”) as Riley acclimatized to moving states, Inside Out 2 explores the unavoidable world of growing up. With new emotions rolling around inside her head, will Riley manage to navigate the minefield of high school? For those who haven’t seen it, there are no spoilers here, but new footage has caused fans to turn their heads because, apparently, Riley dies…

Numerous trailers have depicted scenes from the new Pixar movie. One in particular had fans claiming that Riley’s new emotion was “lesbianism” due to her apparent nervousness around the new character Val (Lilimar). It has been interesting to see Disney and Pixar tackle this period of girlhood after Turning Red became such a contested entry in the Pixar canon.

One “trailer” that has captured attention can be found on Cinematic Pro Studio‘s YouTube channel. The fan-made concept trailer depicts scenes from Inside Out 2, but what has drawn more intrigue is the video’s thumbnail, which portrays Joy, Sadness, and Embarrassment in mourning around Riley’s grave.

And it’s not the first time, either.

Related: Disney Confirms Erasure of “Puberty Park” From ‘Inside Out 2’

Just weeks before this went live on the YouTube channel, another similar scene was depicted on a different video, except this time, the image featured Riley’s parents as well. This video garnered over 800,000 views, while the more recent viral upload drew the attention of 1.3 million users.

Of course, theories that Riley Andersen does not make it to the end of Inside Out 2 are completely unfounded, and Riley does not sadly pass away in Kelsey Mann’s movie.

Inside Out 2 was first announced almost two years ago at the D23 Expo 2022 in Anaheim, Southern California. There, now Chief Creative Officer of Pixar Pete Docter, along with Amy Poehler (Joy), revealed that a sequel was in the works.

Time has flown since that initial announcement, and the release of Inside Out 2 and the explosive success of its opening weekend proves that the familiar can still work almost a decade later. The future of Pixar has been top of mind for executive Docter, who recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly regarding the acclaimed studio’s next steps.

“I feel like we’re in a really golden place where, after a lot of turmoil, every project we have is exciting to me for multiple reasons–both from new looks and technology, but more importantly, original stories and storytellers,” the CCO told EW in New York earlier this month.

“I’ve been at Pixar for 33 years, and I don’t think we’ve ever been in a period of more turmoil and uncertainty than right now, which is kind of exciting. I know that’s weird, maybe to say.”

Discussions about the future of popular movies like Monsters Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), and The Incredibles (2004) have also floated in recent months. Incredibles 2 (2018) remains the studio’s highest-opening weekend at the box office, but it was almost usurped by Inside Out 2 just last weekend.

That said, according to Pixar’s Senior Vice President for Development Lindsay Collins, sequels come with a whole other set of problems, as she indicated when considering a third Incredibles movie.

“The other day, I was like, ‘What if I told you we were making an Incredibles 3?’ And [my son] was like, ‘Money grab.’ And I was like, ‘F—,’ Collins said in a Bloomberg report (via The Direct). “Sequels are a double-edged sword because the audience can be brutal and so quick to judge. Unless they’re worthy.”

Related: Disney Pixar Dragged Through the Dirt After Taking Part in Viral Video Trend

Next up, though, will be a new original story in the form of Elio (2025). Elio follows the titular character Elio Solis, played by Yonas Kibreab, who accidentally becomes the human ambassador for planet Earth after being beamed up to the Communiverse by aliens. America Ferrera (Ugly Betty, Barbie) stars as Elio’s mother, Major Olga Solis.

Of course, sequels aren’t far away, and Toy Story 5 is on the slate for 2026.

Did you get fooled by the viral Inside Out 2 trailer? Let us know in the comments down below!