Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced that sequels to Frozen, Toy Story, and Zootopia are in the works. In other words, Disney fans can look forward to Frozen 3, Toy Story 5, and the first sequel to Zootopia, the acclaimed 2016 movie that took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. According to Deadline, Iger announced these sequels during today’s Q1 earnings call saying, “Today I’m so pleased to announce that we have sequels in the works from our animation studios to some of our most popular franchises, Toy Story, Frozen, and Zootopia. We’ll have more to share about these productions soon, but this is a great example of how we’re leaning into our unrivaled brands and franchises.”
Will’ Frozen,’ ‘Toy Story,’ and ‘Zootopia’ Sequels Make Big Bucks For Disney?
Frozen, Zootopia and the Toy Story franchise have all been highly successful for Disney. In fact, even as Toy Story approaches the 27th anniversary of the original 1995 film, the movies, and the characters have sustained and grown a huge fan base. Toy Story 3 and 4 both won the Best Animated Feature Oscar, and a Buzz Lightyear movie was released last year. While time will tell what the future holds for Toy Story 5, it can’t be denied that the franchise seems to always strike gold.
What is more up in the air is how well Disney’s sequels to Frozen and Zootopia will resonate with fans. While Frozen certainly remains a popular entry in the Disney catalog (even if you’re sick of “Let It Go”), Frozen II had a more mixed reaction, with Damian Gordon of The Nerd Stash calling it a disappointment. And while Zootopia has a dedicated fanbase, it’s now been seven years since its release. But then again, Finding Dory proved successful after a 13-year wait, so perhaps a Zootopia sequel can still be a hit.
While these Disney sequels are certainly exciting, they have been announced on the same day that Iger announced that the company was cutting 7000 jobs to cut costs by $5.5 billion.