Just the incisive commentary we expect from the director of WALL-E. At D23 Expo 2024, Pixar Chief Creative Officer, Pete Docter, announced a fifth entry in the companies longest running franchise. Their first franchise, really. Toy Story 5 will be directed by Pixar Senior Creative Team member Andrew Stanton. Stanton, of course, directed Finding Nemo as well as the one about the robot. He says the movie will be about our hero toys taking on their biggest foe yet… screens. At D23 Brazil, we further learned that Toy Story 5 will release on June 19, 2026. You can check out the first piece of Toy Story 5 concept art below.
In the 30 years since the first Toy Story debuted and ushered in the era of digital animation, the world has not only caught up to Pixar, it shot forward like a rocket to the moon. YouTube and mobile games have taken the place of figures and pull strings in a child’s heart. If you thought Woody was out of date in ’95, he’s a relic today. Smart of Pixar to take that story on.
This will be Stanton’s first film since 2016’s Finding Dory, and his first time helming a Toy Story movie. That alone has us jazzed. Toy Story 5 will officially release on June 19, 2026.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
Originally published on August 9, 2024.
