Toy Story 5 Director Apparently Revealed By Pixar Exec

As the franchise prepares for its return, Toy Story 5 would have found its director with a veteran of a great franchise. Development of a fifth opus in the toy story The franchise was first announced in early 2023 by Disney CEO Bob Iger, with Tim Allen confirmed that he would reprise his role as Buzz Lightyear for the sequel, although Tom Hanks has not yet officially been confirmed to be returning as Woody. Except for the teasing from Allen and Pixar exec Pete Docter about the sequel being “surprising” and setting a release date of June 19, 2026, no major updates have been shared for the film in the past year.

At a recent advance screening of Inside Out 2 (by The MontyVerse), Pixar CCO Pete Docter provided an update on the studio’s slate of upcoming films, including Toy Story 5. The executive revealed that the fifth installment of the hit franchise is set to be directed by Andrew Stanton, who is not only a long-time veteran of the studio, but has also worked with the studio. toy story franchise since the original 1995 film.

Stanton directing Toy Story 5 is a promising sign for the franchise’s return

Having joined the studio long before he began making films, Stanton has been a longtime fixture at Pixar, even serving as vice president of creativity. During his more than 40-year career, the filmmaker was part of the teams of many of the studio’s most acclaimed hits, including co-writing the screenplay and story for the original film. Toy story, its 1999 and 2019 sequels, while co-developing the story of the 2010 trio and also producing the Light year spin off. Stanton also made his directorial debut in The world of Nemo and continues to direct its 2016 and 2008 sequels WALL-E.

In addition to marking his first animated directorial effort since Finding DoryStanton returns for Toy Story 5 could prove to be a promising sign for the success of the upcoming film. So far the main line toy story the films saw various changes in their creative teams, with the third and fourth installments bringing in Lee Unkrich and Josh Cooley to direct in place of John Lassiter, while the writing teams also saw various names come and go. Stanton’s continued presence within the studio and franchise would, however, ensure a proper sequel to the series.

Following Light yeardisappointing performance with audiences and at the box office, having Stanton in the director’s chair could put Toy Story 5 on the best possible path to redeeming the franchise. Although the spin-off was co-written and directed by another franchise veteran, Angus MacLane, he held a more prominent position on the animation side than the creative side, and as such involved someone one directly on the creative team from the start could get the franchise back on track.

The previous Toy Story and Lightyear films are available to stream on Disney+.

Source: The MontyVerse/Twitter

Toy Story 5

Toy Story 5 is the fifth installment in the Toy Story film franchise from Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. The film was announced on February 8, 2023, along with several other major Disney animated sequels. For the film, Tim Allen reprises his role as space toy Buzz Lightyear once again.