More Toy Story, Frozen and Zootopia films are in the works, says Disney CEO Bob Iger

NewsForYouNow October 11, 2022

More Toy Story, Frozen and Zootopia films are in the works, says Disney CEO Bob Iger

Business
February 12, 2023
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Disney plans to lay off 7,000 employees

Disney lays off 7,000 employees in major restructuring 05:03

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that sequels to some of the company’s most popular franchises are in the works. On Wednesday’s first-quarter earnings conference call, Iger said Toy Story, Frozen and Zootopia will have more movies.

“We’ll have more to share about this production soon, but this is a great example of how we draw on our unrivaled brands and franchises,” said Iger.

After the first Toy Story film came out in 1995, three sequels came out, the most recent in 2019. The popular children’s toy franchise has grossed more than $3.3 billion worldwide, making it one of Disney’s most successful projects. The film series released a spin-off film about Buzz Lightyear’s origins as a human, not a toy, last year.

Tim Allen, who has voiced Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise since the first film, tweeted about the planned fifth installment.

“See you soon Woody, you’re a sad, weird little man and you have my pity. And let’s go to number 5! To infinity and beyond!” Allen wrote.

See you soon Woody you are a sad strange little man and you have my pity. And off we go to a number 5! To infinity and beyond! pic.twitter.com/bwRzE487Vi

— Tim Allen (@ofctimallen) February 9, 2023

The Frozen franchise already has two films that have grossed over $2.6 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. The first Zootopia film was released in 2016 and grossed more than $1 billion at the box office worldwide.

The announcement comes as Iger said the company would cut about 7,000 jobs as part of a “significant transformation.”

The job cuts amount to about 3% of the global media and entertainment workforce and were announced after Disney released quarterly results that beat Wall Street forecasts. The layoffs are part of a broader effort by Disney to cut costs by $5.5 billion.

Iger, who returned as CEO in November after a challenging two-year tenure from his handpicked successor Bob Chapek, is under pressure to revitalize the company’s financial fortunes and its share price, which has fallen 24% over the past year.