Is there going to be a Toy Story 5? Everything you need to know
Fans of Pixar’s Woody and Buzz have been wondering about a Toy Story 5 in the pipeline.
Tom Hanks-voiced Sheriff Woody and Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear have been popular characters for longtime fans. The franchise has four main arc animation movies, two spinoffs, three television series, two television specials and three short films about the beloved toys.
It's almost five years since Toy Story 4 was released in 2019 leading to the query about the next movie. Yes, Toy Story 5 is in active development, as confirmed by Disney CEO Bob Iger, despite Toy Story 4 having a well-rounded ending.
However, the release date for the eagerly awaited instalment is yet to be revealed, with a tentative window of 2026 announced.
When and where is Toy Story 5 likely to be released?
Walt Disney Pictures’ animation movie, Toy Story 5 does not have a definite release date yet. However, it's confirmed for a 2026 release window, as per Bob Iger, Disney CEO. The movie is in the early stages of production.
While the news of greenlighting the movie was given a year ago in February 2023, Bob Iger announced Toy Story 5 along with other expected sequels from the production house, like Zootopia 2 and Frozen 3.
While every Pixar movie eventually becomes available on the streaming partner, Disney+, the movies released exclusively on streamers during COVID-19 times suffered losses compared to those released in theatres. The sales of Elemental, which had a theatrical release, compared to Lightyear, which was released on the streamer, were much higher.
Going by this strategy, Pixar is likely to release Toy Story 5 in theatres before bringing it to Disney+, to give it a theatrical potential over subscribers’ numbers. Moreover, every Toy Story movie has enjoyed a theatrical release till now, so the upcoming sequel may do the same.
Expected cast for Toy Story 5
As of now, Tim Allen is confirmed to continue to voice Buzz Lightyear in the upcoming sequel.
In 2019, Tom Hanks, who voiced Sheriff Woody, told on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that Toy Story 4 was the last of the sequels, while Tim Allen expressed a desire to do another sequel.
In June 2023, Pixar CCO Pete Docter confirmed that the character of Woody would return in the sequel. However, there's no affirmation about Tom Hanks voicing the character again.
As for the other characters, nothing is known as of now, but most of the toys are expected to be back.
What will be the expected storyline of Toy Story 5?
At the moment, there's no news about the plot of the movie. As such, Toy Story 4 ended Woody’s journey with him and Buzz going their separate ways. Building up on this story arc may be difficult. Moreover, Bonnie is expected to have grown up and may not play a central figure in the storyline.
The plot may revolve around the next generation of kids. However, Pixar may ditch the clichéd sequel plot and may bring in some radically different fresh story. While being tight-lipped about the story, Pete Docter reckons the plot will surprise, introducing new cool things.
What is the journey of the Toy Story franchise so far?
Over the course of four movies, the story follows Woody, Andy’s favorite toy. However, when Andy gets intergalactic hero Buzz Lightyear as his new toy, Sheriff Woody becomes jealous. They end up with Andy’s neighbor Sid, but resolving their differences, the two toys return home as friends.
The second movie shows an injured Woody stolen by Al’s Toy Barn owner, as he's a rare toy that's part of a large toy set. Buzz and other toys look for Woody despite Stinky Pete’s obstructions and bring him back along with Jessie the Cowgirl and Bullseye the Steed.
The third story has a grown-up Andy looking to donate his toys before leaving for college. When the toys land in a nearby daycare, the maniacal toy bear, Lotso, at the childcare center tries to control them.
After a lot of adventure Woody, Buzz and the other toys escape Lotso. Andy donates his toys to Bonnie, a neighboring kid.
Toy Story 4 sets up Woody for a more thought-provoking plot. When going on a road trip with Bonnie and her family, the toys are reunited with Little Bo Peep, Woody’s long-separated friend.
Instead of belonging to a kid, Bo Peep lives independently and explores the world. Faced with the choice between being a toy available for a child and being free, Woody selects the latter and bids his friends goodbye.
Toy Story 5 is expected to take Woody and Buzz through the next level of storytelling and connect with other stories in the franchise, including 2022’s Lightyear.
Watch out for Toy Story 5 arriving sometime in 2026. Meanwhile, catch the previous movies on Disney+.