With Bob Iger Back in Tow, Disney Plots 'Toy Story 5', 'Frozen 3' & 'Zootopia 2' Amongst Their Upcoming Animation Slate

by Darian Scalamoni

    Many were understandably upset when Bob Iger decided he was going to retire. The guy was an iconic CEO of Disney who shepherded massive deals for Marvel, Lucasfilm & Pixar, helped build out Disney globally in terms of theme park attractions and locations and just was an exemplary leader. When his successor Bob Chapek was personally picked by Iger, it winded up being the worst decision he had made in his tenure. Now, just a short time later, Iger is back at the forefront of being in charge of all things Disney, and there are tons of developments.

    While Iger's reorganization plan of dividing Disney and its entities into three separate sectors might lead to a better return on investment, it doesn't come at an easy cost. Iger is set to cut 7,000 jobs across the Disney brand in the reorg which will see Dana Walden & Alan Bergman as co-chairs for Disney Entertainment, Jimmy Pitaro in charge of ESPN & ESPN+ and finally, Josh D'Amaro heading Disney Parks, Experiences & Products. Additionally, when Iger announced all of this news, he also alluded to some projects being in development that will bring back some recognizable and beloved characters & franchises.

    Though Iger did not add any creative details to these announcements, he did state that we will be getting Toy Story 5, Frozen 3 & Zootopia 2 in the future for Disney Animation and Pixar. Toy Story is one of, if not, the most storied franchise at Pixar and across any Disney animation. While many believe Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending to Andy's story, the studio released the fourth film in the franchise in 2019. That film seemingly ended Woody's story. So where does that leave us with Toy Story 5? Well, we know via Twitter that the voice of Buzz Lightyear is returning; could this be the end of his story?

    Additionally, Frozen 3 will be the third film in the popular franchise for Disney Animation that stars Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad & Jonathan Groff. They're all expected to return for the trilogy bringing forth their voices to the franchise for the first time since Frozen II in 2019. Finally, Zootopia, which I happen to find to be super underrated, will also be garnering a sequel as well. Zootopia 2 is sure to bring back stars Ginnifer Goodwin & Jason Bateman to reprise their voice roles as Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, however nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

    Are you guys excited about the announcement of the continuation of these franchises for Disney? Would you rather them do something more original with their upcoming projects or do you think it's smart for them to stick with sure bets?