Finding Marlin

Finding Marlin is an upcoming 2026 American 3D computer-animated buddy comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed and written by Andrew Stanton, the screenplay was co-written by Bob Peterson and Stanton. The film is a sequel to the critically acclaimed 2016 Disney/Pixar film, Finding Dory, and features the returning voices of Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Elizabeth Perkins, and Williem Dafoe, with Jackson Scott (replacing Hayden Rolence), Michael Keaton, TBA, Denis Leary, and others joining the cast.

Finding Marlin will focus on the overprotective clownfish Marlin, who journeys to New Zealand to find his long-lost wife, Coral. But when he and a new piranha friend get taken, Nemo, Dory and the Tank Gang along with a dog named Rommel try to rescue them. Meanwhile, at an aquarium, Marlin and the new piranha friend get help from a human named Oliver to find Coral.

The film received critical acclaim and won several Annie Awards, and was nominated for the Best Animated Feature OSCAR. It earned a total of $1 billion worldwide.

Finding Marlin is scheduled to be released on July 24, 2026. Upon release, the film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $1 billion worldwide, becoming the third Pixar film to cross this mark after 2010's Toy Story 3 and 2016's Finding Dory.

The film set several records, including the highest-grossing animated film opening of all time in North America. It was also voted one of the 100 greatest motion pictures since 2026. The film will also be THX-certified and presented in IMAX 3D and Disney Digital 3D.

Synopsis
Marlin, Nemo, and Dory go on a new adventure and head for New Zealand to find Marlin's long-lost wife, Coral. But when he and a new piranha friend get taken to an aquarium, Nemo, Dory, and the Tank Gang try to rescue them while meeting new and colorful friends. Meanwhile, at an aquarium, Marlin and the new piranha friend get help from a 17-year-old human named Oliver to find Coral.

Plot
(AUTHOR NOTE: Do NOT edit the plot unless I give you permission.)

The film begins with Marlin, Nemo, and Dory getting ready for bed. Nemo and Dory ask Marlin what happened to Nemo's mother (Coral), so Marlin tells them what happened. Then, Marlin and Nemo go into their anemone, and Dory goes to her brain coral, then they all fall asleep. Later, at midnight, Marlin has a nightmare about losing Coral and their eggs to the barracuda. He wakes up, screaming in fear, and he wakes up Nemo and Dory in the process. Nemo and Dory ask him what's wrong, and Marlin says nothing, telling them to go back to sleep. Marlin then goes to a rock, thinking about Coral.

The following morning, on the way to bring Nemo to school, Marlin sees that people have families, reminding him of his life with Coral before the barracuda incident. Nemo then asks Marlin to come with him on a field trip, then he responds, then they go to a field trip with Mr. Ray to learn about coral reefs. At the field trip, Nemo's classmates ask Marlin about ever having a wife, but Marlin, shocked, tells everybody that he lost Coral years ago due to the barracuda. Marlin then also tells Nemo that the coral reefs remind him about Coral, then he finds clues that Coral used to leave him when she was alive on the sea bed - small broken pieces of coral - and tells Nemo and Dory about these clues.

When they go back home, Marlin keeps finding clues, and later that night, he goes out to follow them, while Nemo and Dory catch up and they all head to New Zealand. During their quest, Nemo falls asleep, and then the trio run into Bruce, Anchor, and Chum, who are now fully vegetarian. Marlin explains to the sharks about his quest to find Coral, so the sharks give Marlin, Nemo, and Dory a lift to New Zealand.

A few hours later, the sharks drop off Marlin, Nemo, and Dory at a cave, where the trio sleeps for the night. The next morning, the trio continues their quest, but they run into Gill and the Tank Gang, who escaped from the Marine Life Institute. Nemo is glad to see the Tank Gang again. Gill then sees a science research ship, then he tells his plan to Marlin, Dory, Nemo, and the Tank Gang about a plan to get on the vessel to use the coordinates to locate Coral. Gill sends Peach and Jacques to the ship, where the two distract the guards and incapacitate them, and get a map to find the location where Coral is most likely at. The plan succeeds, and the heroes follow the ship until they arrive at the port of Napier, New Zealand, where Marlin runs into a genetically modified piranha named Spike, who escaped from a lab in Brazil. Spike joins him on his journey to find Coral. But then, Marlin and Spike both get caught in a fishing boat, but are rescued by the staff members of an aquarium, then Marlin and Spike get put in a cooler in a truck, and it heads for the New Zealand Public Aquarium, in the city of Napier.

Nemo, Dory, and the Tank Gang make a plan to find Marlin and the piranha, then Gill explains that rivers also lead to the ocean, so the heroes start a new adventure to find Marlin and the piranha. They travel too far and end up on the eastern coast of the South Island. Eventually, they find a river, where a bunch of blue penguins guide them to their leader, Lincoln, a blue tang, whom Dory falls in love with, and everyone else meets a Golden retriever dog named Rommel. Nemo asks Lincoln and a dachsund named Brownie to help him find Marlin, so he and his blue penguin friends decide to help Nemo and his friends find Marlin.

Meanwhile, Marlin and Spike are put in a tank in a room of the aquarium, where a group of Special Needs children are visiting. The two fish meet a teenager named Oliver, who can communicate with animals. The fish are shocked that he can talk to animals, but Oliver explains the reason why he can communicate with them - he received a brain injury in a car crash, and can now understand and talk to animals, although he also has seizures, fits, and headaches. Oliver agrees to help Marlin on his quest to find Coral, and puts the two fish in a bucket of water.

Later, Marlin, Spike, and Oliver hear that a injured dolphin named Flipper is in trouble, so Oliver grabs a nearby ladder and puts the two into the tank. Marlin and Spike then meet Flipper, who tells them that he is being bothered by a bully named Arnold who is an orca. Marlin and Spike then stand up to the bully, who then gets taken out of the tank by the human workers. Marlin explains to Flipper about his quest to find Coral, and Flipper, in return, gives him directions to the coral reef exhibit. Then, Oliver puts the two fish into the bucket, and the trio continue their quest to find Coral. Among the way, Marlin and friends go to more exhibits.

Meanwhile, Fang the barracuda and another piranha named Paul find out that his spy Spike is missing, so they swim from the Tasman Sea to the East Coast of New Zealand. Meanwhile, after travelling from the South Island back to near Napier, Lincoln introduces Nemo, Dory, and the Tank Gang to his companion, a North Island brown kiwi named George. Nemo explains to George about his journey to find Marlin at the aquarium, so he puts Nemo, Dory, the Tank Gang, and Lincoln in a fish tank. Gill then notices the pipes, and he tells Nemo, Dory, and the rest of the gang to get in the pipes to get to the aquarium, so they travel through the storm-water pipes and fight against the current to get to the aquarium.

Marlin, Spike, and Oliver go through many exhibits, and they eventually make to their destination, the Coral Reef exhibit, where Oliver gives Marlin something to remember him, and they part ways, and Oliver drops Marlin and Spike into a tank. Marlin, however, finds Coral, who is glad to see Marlin again. They have a tearful reunion. He tells Coral about how his life was after losing her and Coral reveals how she survived the barracuda incident: she swam out of the barracuda's mouth before it closed, but she was injured in the process, so she has a scar on one side and doesn't swim well because her tail was injured as well. Spike then sneaks away and sends Fang a message through phytoplankton.

<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[8293,9228,0,0]}">While in the pipes, the heroes are still trying to get through them, and Dory keeps forgetting Lincoln's name, which makes him find it a little endearing. Everyone sees that they are almost outside of the pipes, but Gill and the Tank Gang get stuck in a drain, and the pelicans with George's help lift the drain grate and scoop the fish out of the storm-water drain and carry them in their beaks to the NZ Aquarium. Back at the Coral Reef exhibit, Marlin tells Coral about the tales from Finding Dory. Coral is impressed about the tales Marlin tells, and comments on how sweet those stories are. Marlin then points out that Nemo and Dory would try to find him. Then, he tells Coral about his mollusk joke from the original film, which impresses her. But then, Nigel and the pelicans arrive with Nemo and his friends, and they rescue Marlin, Spike, and Coral from the aquarium. Then, a mean gang plan to stop Nigel and the pelicans.

<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[9230,10113,0,0]}">The heroes try to escape from the gang, but a member of the gang throws a rock at Nigel's left wing, injuring him. Oliver then rescues Marlin, Nemo, Dory, and the gang and puts them in a fish tank which is in a shopping cart, and runs away from the gang. He takes one of the gangs' cars and drives away, resulting in a car chase with the other gang members. The police and the policedogs join the chase and successfully stop and arrest half of the gang. Oliver has a seizure in the car, but presses the brake, so he crashes harmlessly into a wall near the river at low speed. As the police arrest the rest of the gang, Oliver releases the heroes to the ocean, and says farewell to Marlin and his friends, while Nemo says farwell to Rommel. He is then taken to hospital by the police who know about his brain injury and seizure Meanwhile, Nigel and the pelicans are rescued by humans.

<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[10115,10433,0,0]}">Meanwhile Fang and Paul find the phytoplankton message sent by Spike, and Fang learns that Spike is going to bring the two clownfish Marlin and Coral to him and must recruit allies in case he brings more fish. Fang and Paul then meet three predators named Ryan, Harold, and Ben and ask them to join him and they agree.

<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[10435,11019,0,0]}">When the heroes go back to the ocean, they travel from Hawkes Bay up to the Bay of Plenty, where Spike, feeling remorse for betraying Marlin's trust, confesses his plans and his role as a spy to Marlin, which angers the clownfish. Marlin and Spike end up in an argument, but Coral stops Marlin from making things worse. Spike has a change of heart, and agrees to help Marlin escape from the barracuda and his baddies. Soon, Spike goes to Fang, who briefly gets angry at him for going missing. Fang then sees Dory and Coral, and starts chasing them while Spike goes with Marlin and co.

<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[11021,12310,0,0]}">Leading the barracuda away from Marlin, whom he intended to ambush, Dory swims away with Coral; Meanwhile, Marlin and friends make a plan to stop Fang. Dory and Coral, however, catch up with Marlin and his friends, but Fang and his baddies show up and corner everyone, and he asks Spike to help him bring the heroes down. Spike refuses and sides with Marlin, making Fang furious, and the heroes fight Fang and his baddies. During their fight, Fang knocks a sea column on Spike's head, brutally hurting him and physically sending him into a rock wall. The barracuda then corners Marlin, intending to attack him, but Marlin and Nemo decide to escape from Fang as he begins chasing them. Then, the two clownfish spot an underwater volcanic crater, part of the White Island volcano, then Nemo remembers the Ring of Fire from the first film and swims in the bubbles safely with Marlin while trying to escape. Fang runs into the bubbles and gets burned. Angry and in pain, he blindly crosses the crater just as the eruption starts. Nemo and Marlin yell at him to look out and get out of the crater, but he continues chasing them and nearly devours them before he gets caught by the full blast of the eruption. Nemo and Marlin then have to escape the underwater lava flows, steam and landslides.

<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[12312,12822,0,0]}">Everyone then sees the volcano eruption and believe that Marlin and Nemo have died, so they mourn their loss. Then, Marlin and Nemo make it out of the volcano alive, and then everyone cheers for them. Everyone is safe, except for Spike, who is badly injured, and tells Marlin his last words before he dies. Nemo then cries because Spike died, and everyone mourns the death of Spike. Marlin then confesses how he regrets his fallout with Spike. Marlin and everyone then head back home to the Great Barrier Reef.

<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[12824,13465,0,0]}">Marlin and the others go back to the reef by riding the current, and they tell Crush and the sea turtles about their adventures. Marlin is still sad about Spike's death, but Crush cheers him up, and then everyone exits the current and they return to the reef. Back at the reef, Marlin, Nemo, Dory, and Coral hold a funeral for Spike. The next day, Nemo comes back to school and Mr. Ray tells him off for not being at school and that he was supposed to have a report on predators. However, Nemo is able to come up with a report on barracudas and piranhas on the spot, so Mr. Ray gives him an A+. All the other kids then think he is very cool.

<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[13467,14017,0,0]}">That night, Marlin and Coral are in the anemone, and they talk about being together and Marlin talks about how much he missed Coral, but that somehow he knew that she wasn't dead because he didn't turn into a female. They share a loving hug because they're happy to be together again. The next day everybody goes back to their happy lives, and Marlin is happy about being with Coral again. Marlin, Coral, Nemo, and Dory are happy about the ocean and how it has changed due to their adventures. They then go spend time with everyone as the movie ends.

Main Cast

 * Albert Brooks as Marlin, an overprotective clownfish, Nemo's father, and Coral's husband.
 * Noah Schnapp as Nemo, a young optimistic clownfish, Marlin and Coral's son, and Dory's friend. He was voiced by Hayden Rolence in the previous film. He was also voiced by Alexander Gould in the first movie.
 * Ellen DeGeneres as Dory, a Pacific regal blue tang who suffers from short-term memory loss.
 * Elizabeth Perkins as Coral, a female clownfish who is Marlin's wife and Nemo's mother.
 * Michael Keaton as Spike, a genetically modified piranha who is Fang's spy and the secondary antagonist-turned-one of the three deuteragonists of the film.
 * Alexander Gould as Lincoln, a blue tang who is the leader of 20 blue penguins. He develops a crush on Dory in the film. Alexander Gould also voiced Nemo in the first film.
 * Hayden Rolence as Oliver, a human teenager who can communicate with animals due to his head injury. He helps Marlin on his adventure to find Coral. Hayden Rolence also voiced Nemo in the previous film.
 * Williem Dafoe as Gill, a Moorish idol who is the leader of the Tank Gang.
 * Brad Garrett as Bloat, a pufferfish who is a member of the Tank Gang.
 * Allison Janney as Peach, a pink starfish who is a member of the Tank Gang.
 * Austin Pendleton as Gurgle, a royal gramma who is a member of the Tank Gang.
 * Stephen Root as Bubbles, a yellow tang who is a member of the Tank Gang.
 * Vicki Lewis as Deb/Flo, a four-striped damselfish who is a member of the Tank Gang.
 * Jerome Ranft as Jacques, a cleaner shrimp who is a member of the Tank Gang. He was voiced by Joe Ranft, Jerome's late brother, in the first film.
 * Billy Connoly as Rommel, a Scottish-accented Golden retriever dog who befriends Nemo.
 * Peter Sohn as Brownie, a dachshund who is Lincoln's best friend.
 * Idris Elba as Bruce, a completely vegetarian great white shark. He was voiced by Barry Humphries in the first film.
 * Eric Bana as Anchor, a completely vegetarian hammerhead shark who is friends with Bruce.
 * Bruce Spence as Chum, a completely vegetarian mako shark who is friends with Bruce and Anchor.
 * TBA as Fang, the barracuda who wants to eat Marlin and his friends. He is the main antagonist of the movie, unlike his first appearance in the first Finding Nemo.
 * Denis Leary as Paul, a genetically modified piranha who is much more of a baddy than Spike is, and also works for Fang.
 * John Ratzenberger as Ryan, an electric eel who is one of the three baddies that Fang makes a deal with.
 * Alan Tudyk as Harold, a lionfish who is one of the three baddies that Fang makes a deal with.
 * Kirk Thornton as Ben, a sea snake who is one of the three baddies that Fang makes a deal with.
 * James S. Baker as Flipper, a common bottlenose dolphin who lives at the New Zealand Public Aquarium.
 * Alec Baldwin as Arnold, a mean orca whale who bullies Flipper.
 * Frank Welker as George, a North Island brown kiwi who is a companion of Lincoln.
 * Andrew Stanton as Crush, a 150-year old green sea turtle.
 * Finn Carr as Squirt, a green sea turtle and Crush's son. He was voiced by Bennett Dammann in the previous film. He was also voiced by Nicholas Bird in the first film.
 * Geoffrey Rush as Nigel, a brown pelican from the first film.
 * Kaitlin Olson as Destiny, a near-sighted whale shark and Dory's childhood friend.
 * Ty Burrell as Bailey, a beluga whale.
 * Diane Keaton as Jenny, Dory's mother.
 * Eugene Levy as Charlie, Dory's father.
 * Bob Peterson as Mr. Ray, Nemo's schoolteacher.
 * Ed O'Neill as Hank, a cranky East Pacific red octopus who grown back a tentacle.

Additional Voices
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[17962,17985,0,0]}">more coming soon...
 * Owen Vaccaro as Sheldon, a sea horse.
 * Scarlett Estevez as Pearl, a flapjack octopus.
 * Connor Corum as Tad, a long-nosed butterfly fish.
 * Katherine Ringgold as Kathy, a chickenfish.
 * Andrew Stanton, Brad Bird, Bob Peterson, and Lee Unkrich as the pelicans who are Nigel's friends. They help Nemo and friends find Marlin, Coral, and Spike at the NZ Aquarium.

Production
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[18004,18332,0,0]}">In June 2016, director Andrew Stanton talked about the possibility of a sequel, saying that he would never exclude it because of the introduction of new characters, citing the Toy Story films as guides for how to expand a world through sequels. Soon, in 2022, Andrew Stanton announced that a third film will be released in 2026.

Spinoffs
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[18348,18351,0,0]}">TBA

Soundtrack
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[18369,18394,0,0]}">Composed by Thomas Newman

Track Listing
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[18417,18485,0,0]}">(NOTE: DO NOT add in Crocodile Chase because that scene was removed)

Box Office
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[19647,19716,0,0]}">Finding Marlin earned $1,324,411,567 at the worldwide box office.

Critical Response
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[19743,20176,0,0]}">Finding Marlin received positive reviews from critics, with a 8/10 rating on IMDB, a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 95/100 rating on Metacritic. Critics typically praised the animation quality, the characters, the storyline, and the well-done voice acting, while some did criticise some of the scenes that don't make sense. Finding Marlin won several Annie Awards, and was nominated for the Best Animated Feature OSCAR.

LEGO Finding Nemo
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[20200,20548,0,0]}">In summer 2026, LEGO released a Finding Nemo theme, with a couple sets each from the first two movies. The range became very highly popular, prompting an expansion of the range of sets. Then, in spring 2027, a video game called ''LEGO Finding Nemo: The Videogame is came out, and it has the same gameplay as other LEGO video games.

<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[20550,20574,0,0]}">Here are a list of sets:

Finding Nemo

 * Jellyfish Forest (Includes Marlin, Dory, and 16x Jellyfish)
 * The Drop-Off (Includes Marlin, Nemo, Pearl, Sheldon, Tad, Mr. Ray, Kathy, 3x Fish, and a Driver)
 * Mount Wannahockaloogie (Includes Nemo, Gill, Bloat, Peach, Deb, Bubbles, Jacques, and Gurgle)
 * Anglerfish Chase (Includes Marlin, Dory, and an Anglerfish)
 * Sydney Harbour (Includes Marlin, Dory, Nigel, Gerald, and 20x Seagull)
 * East Australian Current (Includes Marlin, Dory, Crush, Squirt, and 3x Sea turtles)
 * Shark Chase (Includes Marlin, Dory, Bruce, Anchor, and Chum)

Finding Dory

 * The Midnight Zone (Includes Dory, Marlin, Nemo, 16x Crabs, and the Giant Squid)
 * The Open Ocean Exhibit (Includes Dory, 2x Crabs, and 16x Fish)
 * Touch Pool (Includes Dory, Hank, and 16x Fish
 * The Truck (Includes Dory, Jenny, Charlie, Destiny, Bailey, Hank, Marlin, Nemo, 16x Fish, and Becky the Loon)
 * Stingray Migration (Includes Dory, Nemo, Mr. Ray, Pearl, Sheldon, Tad 5x Stingray, Kathy, and 3x Fish)

Finding Marlin

 * NIWA Research Ship (Includes Nemo, Marlin, Dory, Gill, the Tank Gang, a Crocodile, 3x Scientists, and 3x other Fish)
 * Oliver at the Aquarium
 * Fish in the Pipes
 * Gang Car Chase
 * Volcano Final Battle (Includes Marlin, Nemo, and Fang)
 * The Great Party
 * Flipper's Exhibit (Includes Marlin, Spike, Flipper, and Arnold)
 * Reunion with Coral
 * Waimakariri River (Includes Nemo, Dory, the Tank Tang, Lincoln, George and 6x Blue Penguin)

Transcript
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[22030,22059,0,0]}">Finding Marlin/Transcript

Marketing
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[22076,22241,0,0]}">On December 17, 2025, a teaser trailer was released on Pixar's YouTube channel, followed by a full theatrical trailer on Pixar's YouTube channel on February 4, 2026.

Theatrical release
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[22269,22330,0,0]}">The film was released in theaters worldwide on July 24, 2026.

Home media release
<p data-parsoid="{"dsr":[22357,22518,0,0]}">Finding Marlin is scheduled to be released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray (2D and 3D) and DVD in the United States on December 8, 2026.

Trivia

 * The plot of Finding Marlin was inspired by Finding Dory and Ice Age.
 * Barry Humphries didn't reprise his role as Bruce because He is replaced by Idris Elba.
 * Unlike Finding Nemo, Coral has a large role in the film.
 * Unlike Finding Dory, the Tank Gang have a large role in the film.
 * In 2027, Disney made a Finding Marlin-themed ride at Disneyland, replacing the original Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage ride. The ride at Disneyland became so popular that it boosted the film's popularity.
 * When Mr. Ray and his class are traveling to the coral reefs, he sings a song like the ones he sang in the previous 2 films.
 * Hayden Rolence couldn't reprise his role of Nemo because of his deepened voice, which is due to him being too old to reprise as Nemo. The role was given to TBA.
 * This is the third Pixar's sequel/prequel film to be rated PG by the MPAA, after Finding Dory and The Incredibles 2.
 * Some of the visitors at the NZ Aquarium are reused background human characters from earlier Pixar that have humans.
 * This is the first Pixar film to get an M rating in New Zealand. This is similar to when the first Finding Nemo was Rated PG in New Zealand.
 * This is the first Finding Nemo installment to include the Wilhelm scream. It is at the scene where Fang is killed by the full blast of the volcanic eruption.
 * Finding Marlin will tie in the events of the original Finding Nemo with this film.