Disney directors Wish shares his thoughts on how the movie ended for Chris Pine’s King Magnifico and if a wish 2 could be okay.
Warning – This article contains spoilers Wish.
At the third show of the year WishKing Magnifico fully embraced forbidden magic in his quest to destroy Asha’s Wishing Star. Even as Asha and the City of Rosas come close to victory, they unite and defeat the villain.
Magnifico is certainly not gone forever. Instead, the former king is imprisoned at the tip of his own magical staff, which is hung on the walls of his dungeon.
The end of King Magnifico explained according to Disney’s wishes
In an exclusive interview with The Direct magazine Wish directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn shared their thoughts on what happened to Chris Pine’s King Magnifico at the end of the film and the likelihood wish 2 coming to fruition.
“The idea of her stuck in a mirror (seemed) so right for someone who loves vanity.” claimed Veerasunthorn, “what was the reason why” that the end was chosen for him.
As for the possibility of the story coming up in a possible sequel, Veerasunthorn made it clear that right now they’re just focused on getting this first movie out into the world:
“Right now, we’ve just finished this story and put this baby into the world to live a moment in the moment and maybe take a nap after all of this.”
But did the duo ever consider offering Magnifico a path to redemption? Chris Buck doesn’t seem to remember that they did:
“I don’t think so. I think he was always in that (down) spiral. I don’t think we ever talked about redeeming him, did we?”
Veerasunthorn jumped in saying that throughout the film the character is actually “repeatedly” given opportunities “make a different decision”– what he never does:
“What’s interesting is that we repeatedly give this character a chance to make a different decision. Right? And then we’re like, well, but because that’s who he is, Magnifico doesn’t make that decision. And it’s fun to see someone who just went deeper and deeper into this obsession with forbidden magic .”
What could a potential Wish 2 explore?
Although the initial social media reactions Wish were generally positive, its Rotten Tomatoes score paints a much darker picture. At the time of writing, the film only has a 48% approval rating from critics.
The film has also underperformed at the box office thus far, grossing an estimated $20 million in its domestic opening weekend, so fans may not want to bet too much on the film getting a sequel anytime soon.
But if there were, what could be studied? Magnifico is still technically close – maybe he could get a decent redemption arc.
Asha is also in an interesting place as she has received a magic wand from Star and has become Rosas new Fairy Godmother. That seems like a strong hook for a handful of new stories that could be told about the hero.
Although a sequel Wish will likely remain hypothetical, the latest Disney Animation film can now be seen in theaters worldwide.