While studio execs devise strategies to push Pixar toward the relative safety of mass appeal, one of the linchpins of the company seems to have whooshed in to save the day, at least for Toy Story 5.
The fifth installment in the comedy-adventure film series is currently in the budding stage of development with both Tom Hanks and Tim Allen expected to reprise the iconic duo of Woody and Buzz Lightyear. And Pixar CCO has reportedly confirmed that a widely celebrated director will be taking the reins for the upcoming film.
Longtime Pixar Director to Helm Toy Story 5
According to The MontyVerse, Pixar’s Pete Docter – during a screening of Inside Out 2 – confirmed that filmmaker and voice actor Andrew Stanton will be directing the much-anticipated Toy Story 5, albeit, no official announcements have been made yet.
Stanton, 58, has been an indispensable part of Pixar Animation Studios for more than three decades, significantly contributing to numerous of the studio’s prime projects ever since. Not only has he directed Oscar-winning knockouts like Finding Nemo (2003) and Wall-E (2008) but Stanton is also accredited as a co-screenwriter on all the previous Toy Story features.
Either way, fans couldn’t be happier about Stanton’s reported involvement in the Disney+ venture (via DiscussingFilm).
This is gonna be a certified banger pic.twitter.com/ZhMQVMWL95
— Fernansh Era (@BrunoFernanshh) June 8, 2024
THERES STILL HOPE pic.twitter.com/H0b7wk5T33
— Official Chicken Little Movie Account (@RANDOMC_L_EVENT) June 8, 2024
Yeah, this is in good hands
— The Moonlight Warrior 🌙 (@BlackMajikMan90) June 8, 2024
I was whining about yet another sequel, til I saw Andrew Stanton was directing it.
— MRS. MASSACRE (@Missus_Massacre) June 9, 2024
Toy Story was such a smashing success that it claimed the second spot in the list of highest-grossing films of 1995, accumulating over $365 million at the worldwide box office (via The Numbers). Thanks to the dazzling charm of the first film, the studio spawned three brilliantly triumphant sequels, one sub-par spin-off, and is now on the way to release Toy Story 5.
All We Know About Toy Story 5
Back in 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger officially established that a fifth Toy Story film was in the works (via Deadline). While little is known about save for the exciting comebacks of the franchise’s classic characters, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, both Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are presumed to reprise their respective roles in the animation.
Later last year, Allen, 70, confirmed that Disney had indeed “reached out” to him and The Man Called Otto star to voice the comically dynamic duo of Woody and Buzz for Toy Story 5. “They have reached out to Tom and I to reprise the roles. They’re not saying anything about it,” The Santa Clause star said on The Tonight Show.
However, Allen did seem to have a few concerns about whether yet another segment wasn’t pushing it. “You wonder if four was too many. Is five going to be too much?” Not to mention, with the way Pixar movies have been miserably navigating the box office – the likes of which include Peter Sohn’s Elemental and Angus MacLane’s Lightyear – one wrong move and things may hit the fan with this project too.
But Stanton could be the knight in shining armor that the studio desperately needs and if the reports about him helming Toy Story 5 are true, then perhaps Hanks and Allen can rest assured knowing that the movie’s fate is in reliable hands.
Toy Story 5 will hit theatres on June 19, 2026.
