It is unclear how far this news is from the horse’s mouth, but given how much of a pet project Cars was for John Lasseter, it seems unlikely that he would relinquish hands-on creative control of a spin-off. So far, Pixar have managed to resist the temptation to make cheaper, inferior, straight-to-DVD sequels and spin-offs and frankly, long may that trend continue. They fought to protect Toy Storys 2 and 3 as theatrical releases and we’re not sure how to feel about a departure from this.
Up until now, even Pixar’s lesser work (Cars itself and A Bugs Life) has fully warranted a cinema release. If they can continue to focus on quality rather than volume cash-ins, the cinema world will be a better place for it.