During the Disney earnings call for Q1 2024, CEO Bob Iger provided updates on numerous high-profile animated franchises.
Zootopia 2 will be released on November 16, 2025, according to Iger. He did not provide a particular release date for Toy Story 5 and Frozen 3, but said that both films will be released in 2026.
This announcement is a follow-up to Iger's Q1 2023 earnings call around the same time last year where he first confirmed that additional installments in each of these franchises were in the works.
If Zootopia 2 is due out next year, development on the sequel is already underway, albeit there are no new specifics about the returning voice cast.
On the creative side, Jared Bush, the original screenwriter and co-director, will return to write the story and co-direct alongside Josie Trinidad.
Iger emphasized that while 2024 may appear to be a low-output year, he cited SAG-AFTRA and the WGA's twin strike this past summer as the cause. The company's content output will increase in 2025, but he also warned that Disney will reduce its output for Marvel and Star Wars.
Still, Zootopia fans should be happy as the company hasn't really pushed the franchise despite the fact that the 2016 animated film grossed more than $1 billion at the global box office and took home the Oscar that year for best animated film.
This past December, a Zootopia-themed land opened in Shanghai Disney in China and there have been rumors among the parks' fandom that such a project will come to the States, particularly in Disney World's Animal Kingdom.
In regards to the Frozen franchise, fans have known for quite some time that a third installment was in the works but it was more recently revealed that the film could be split into two parts, with a third and fourth film set for release in a relatively short release window.
Disney Animation's Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee recently revealed that the story for Frozen 3 is so robust that everything might not fit into one film.
Not much is known about Toy Story 5 as that seems to be the film among the three that's in the earliest stage of development. Tim Allen is confirmed to be returning as the voice of Buzz after the lackluster audience response to 2022's Lightyear, which saw Captain America actor Chris Evans take over the role of voicing Buzz.