Stanton Directing Toy Story 5 Shows Promise For The Franchise's Comeback.
Having Stanton in the director's chair will help *Toy Story 5* to be on the best track possible to save the franchise given *Lightyear*'s disappointing result with viewers and at the box office.
Stanton is a lifetime mainstay of Pixar, having joined the company well before they started filming Movies; he holds their Vice President of Creativity title. Over his forty-plus-year career, the director has co-developed the story for 2010's *threequel* and executive produced the *Lightyear* spinoff in addition to co-writing the script and story for the original *Toy Story*, its 1999 and 2019 sequel. Stanton also made his feature directorial debut on *Finding Nemo* and then helmed the 2008 *WALL-E* and 2016 sequel.
Director of Toy Story 5 Apparently Revealed by Pixar Executive
Reportedly finding its director with a significant franchise veteran, *Toy Story 5* is ready for its comeback. Disney CEO Bob Iger originally revealed in early 2023 development on a fifth part in the *Toy Story* series, Tim Allen confirmed to be resuming his role as Buzz Lightyear for the sequel, although Tom Hanks has yet been formally confirmed to be returning as Woody. Save for Allen and Pixar executive Pete Docter's teasers on the sequel being "surprising" and landing a June 19, 2026 release date; no significant updates have been posted about the film over the past year.
Pete Docter, Pixar CCO, gave an update on the forthcoming film slate of the studio during a recent advance showing of *Inside Out 2* (via *The MontyVerse*. Including *Toy Story 5*. The executive said that Andrew Stanton, not only a long-time studio veteran but also has been with the *Toy Story* franchise since the original 1995 film, will be directing the fifth edition of the hit series.
Stanton's Work on WALL-E Won Him Oscars and Finding Nemo
Stanton's work on *Finding Nemo* and *WALL-E* brought him Best Animated Feature Oscars in their respective years.
Apart from being his first animated directorial attempt since *Finding Dory*, Stanton's comeback for *Toy Story 5* could show encouraging signals for the popularity of the forthcoming film. The creative teams of the major *Toy Story* films have experienced a range of changes up to this point; the third and fourth editions brought in Lee Unkrich and Josh Cooley instead of John Lassiter, while the writing teams also saw a lot of people come and go. Stanton's constant involvement both with the studio and the franchise, however, would guarantee a fitting series continuance.
Toy Story Seems to Have Twice Ending
Toy Story seems to cut off the series twice only to resurface. Once *Toy Story 5* has been confirmed, these narratives can permanently close *Toy Story*.
Having Stanton in the director's chair will help *Toy Story 5* to be on the best track possible to salvage the series, given *Lightyear*'s dismal result with viewers and at the box office. Although fellow franchise vet Angus MacLane co-wrote and directed the spinoff, he held a larger role on the animation side of things rather than the creative side. As such, putting someone directly involved with the creative team since the beginning could help the franchise get back on track.
A narrative to share.
Disney+ has past *Toy Story* films and *Lightyear* available for streaming.
Source: Twitter / MontyVerse
Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios's fifth *Toy Story* film is Toy Story 5. Along with several other big Disney animation sequels, the movie was revealed on February 8 2023. Tim Allen once more plays the space-faring toy Buzz Lightyear in the movie.
