Toy Story Was Always Planned To Continue

When Toy Story 3 premiered in 2010, millions of Pixar fans were overjoyed and heartbroken to see the film. The third installment of the beloved franchise saw Woody, Buzz, and the rest of Andy’s toys struggle with the fact that their owner was moving on to college. The movie made guts wrench all over the world, but Toy Story 3 ended on a positive note that warmed hearts. So, it’s no surprise that fans were shocked to learn a fourth Toy Story film was in development. The series appeared to have wrapped all its loose ends with the last film, but Pixar’s Andrew Stanton is now saying the studio always planned to have more Toy Story movies.

In a recent interview with Yahoo!, the vice president of Pixar’s creative team said the company has intended to continue the franchise for years now.

“Nobody’s harder on us [about] making a great Toy Story movie than we are,” Stanton said. “We know what it feels like to hit the bull’s-eye. And that’s part of the reason we’ve delayed it, so that we can really nail it. I know there’s a lot of concern about ‘why a fourth?’ But the truth is, we always had the intention of continuing.”

Earlier this year, fans learned that Toy Story 4 had been delayed by a year, but the news wasn’t all bad. Pixar announced they were pushing back Toy Story 4 until June 21, 2019. To compensate for the delay, Pixar moved The Incredibles 2 up by swapping its premiere with Toy Story 4. Now, the animated superhero flick will hit theaters on June 15, 2018.

If you are wondering how Toy Story 4 will fit into the preexisting trilogy, then there’s no need; The next film will be separate from its predecessors. Pixar’s President Jim Morris told Disney Latino last year that Toy Story 4 “is not a continuation of the end of the story of Toy Story 3.”

“The third movie was over in a beautiful way and completed a trilogy,” he said.

In fact, the next movie will focus less on the toys and their human interactions and instead explore a romantic relationship between two very familiar characters. John Lasseter from Disney confirmed the movie would be a rom-com “with Woody and — and this is news — Bo Peep!”

As for why the team wasn’t willing to create yet another trilogy film, Lasseter said it came down to principles. “At Pixar and at Disney, we only make sequels if we come up with a story that’s as good or better than the original. That’s our rule. We don’t do things just to print money.”

So, what do you think? Are you excited to see another Toy Story film file into theaters? Let us know in the comments below!

Toy Story 4 will follow a year later on June 21, 2019.

[H/T] Yahoo