Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) will return to race anew in the upcoming installment of Walt Disney Pictures' "Cars" franchise. But this time, McQueen will undergo training under a young Hispanic female race car named Cruz Ramirez.
In an interview with USA Today, "Cars 3" director Brian Fee revealed that the new character will try to share her knowledge to McQueen.
"Cruz Ramirez is trying to figure out how this old dog can learn some new tricks," Fee said.
The third "Cars" film will feature the development of McQueen's character that evolved from his rookie days during the Piston Cup in the first installment released in 2006, to his journey all over the world during the World Grand Prix that was shown in 2011's "Cars 2."
The first image of Cruz Ramirez can be seen through a concept art posted on the Oh My Disney website.
For "Cars 3," Fee revealed that the film will evolve around McQueen's adventures as a veteran car racer. "Think of where he'd be in his career now in real time," Fee said. "(McQueen) is not an old man, but he's one of the older cars on the circuit with new rookies coming in. People start to wonder and ask when he might retire."
Aside from Cruz Ramirez, McQueen will also encounter a rookie named Jackson Storm, who the director described as "the face of these rookies who have come onto the scene." According to Fee, "McQueen is in a position where his entire racing generation is being pushed out. But it's too early to be shown the door right now."
The production for "Cars 3" is currently underway, and they are still mum about who will lend the voices to the two new characters. "We're still creating the blueprints on some rooms of this house, but we're starting to paint in other rooms," the movie director said.
"Cars 3" is slated to premiere in theaters on June 16, 2017.
