Toy Story 5 director Andrew Stanton has defended the ongoing Pixar series despite some concerns that it’s being stretched thin with too many sequels. The Finding Nemo and Wall-E Oscar winner said in an interview with Empire Magazine that he split the series into the original trilogy and everything that came after (2019’s Toy Story 4 and the upcoming fifth installment). Stanton suggested there is no limit to the number of Toy Story movies that can be made, given that children’s relationship with toys continues to evolve with each new generation.
“So ‘3’ was the end of the Andy era,” Stanton told Empire. “No one is being robbed of a trilogy. You can have a trilogy and not watch another one if you don’t want to. But I love how this world allows us to embrace time and change. There’s no promise that it will stay amber.”
In Toy Story 5, Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of their beloved friends come face-to-face with an iPad-like tablet called Lilypad. Director Stanton said the film is “not so much about the fight itself as it is a recognition of the existential problem that no one really plays with toys anymore.”
“Technology has changed everyone’s lives, but we are asking what it means for us and for our children. We can’t just demonize technology,” Stanton added.
Toy Story 5 comes six years after Toy Story 4, which grossed $1 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing film in series history. The film also won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, following Toy Story 3. Voice actors Tom Hanks and Tim Allen return as Woody and Buzz, respectively, and co-stars include Joan Cusack as Jesse, Blake Clark as Slinky Dog, and Tony Hale as Forky. Conan O’Brien will be joining the series as Smarty Pants, and Past Lives star Greta Lee will be voicing Lilypad.
Toy Story 5, produced by Disney and Pixar, will be released in theaters on June 19, 2026.
