Disney has announced a return to the world of Woody and Buzz in Toy Story 5.
Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed there will be a new sequel to Toy Story coming from Pixar during the 2023 year-end earnings call. It will be Toy Story’s sixth feature film after Lightyear in 2022 and Toy Story 4 in 2019.
The Pixar series, which heralded the animation studio’s arrival in 1995, has grossed more than $3.3 billion so far, and Toy Story 5 hopes to follow in its predecessors’ footsteps to become another hit in the world. box office for Disney.
Learn more: Why isn’t Tim Allen in Lightyear?
Here’s everything we know about Toy Story 5 so far.
Potential release date of Toy Story 5
An official release date for Toy Story 5 has yet to be announced and its status is “in development” at Pixar.
Judging by the release cycle of previous films, we could be waiting up to four or five years for Toy Story 5 to place its release window at some point in 2027-2028. However, Pixar currently has three untitled movies on its slate dated June 2025, March 2026, and June 2026: Could June 2026 be the release date for Toy Story 5?
Both Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 had summer release dates, so we expect Toy Story 5 to follow suit.
The cast of Toy Story 5
There wouldn’t be a Toy Story without the powerful vocal performances of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as Woody and Buzz Lightyear – so will they return for Toy Story 5?
Learn more: Tom Hanks’ Greatest Moments
Following the Toy Story 5 announcement, the Home Improvement star—who didn’t appear in the Lightyear spin-off—confirmed he’d be back as Buzz alongside Woody, tweeting: ” See you soon Woody… we’re moving on to number 5! To infinity and beyond!”
Speaking to ET in 2019 about the prospect of Toy Story 5, Allen expressed interest in returning as Buzz Lightyear for a fifth film.
“Once you hit four, you’ve done this trilogy [point]so I see no reason why they wouldn’t, definitely,” Allen said. “If you ask me, I would say do five.
Hanks seemed less sure in 2019, telling Ellen DeGeneres, “We’re saying goodbye to Woody and Buzz and Bonnie and Andy’s room and everybody,” before adding, “Is it over? I don’t know. He will live forever.”
Hopefully that means we’ll also see the return of Tony Hale as Forky, Annie Potts as Bo Peep, Joan Cusack as Jessie, Wallace Shawn as Rex, John Ratzenberger as Hamm, and Blake Clark as as Slinky Dog.
One actor who unfortunately won’t be returning is Don Rickles as Mr Potato Head, the actor having passed away in 2017.
The plot of Toy Story 5
While we don’t yet know any plot details for Toy Story 5, it’s clear that Woody and Buzz will have to reunite again for another adventure.
Toy Story 4’s ending was emotional as it saw Woody and Bo Peep leave Bonnie’s toys behind to become “lost toys” with Giggle McDimples, Duke Caboom, Bunny and Ducky at the fairgrounds.
They decided to stay with the traveling carnival because Bonnie no longer needed Woody. It was an emotional scene to record for the cast as it seemed to mark the end of the series, with Hanks saying he needed to turn away from the crew in the recording booth in case it made him cry.
Learn more: Pixar jokes that will blow your mind
The rest of Bonnie’s toys – Buzz, Jessie, Forky, Bullseye, Slinky, Rex, the Potato Heads, Trixie, Dolly and Buttercup – returned to her family’s RV to continue as the young girl’s toys for that she still needed it.
We can’t wait to find out how it goes.
Who is making Toy Story 5?
Josh Cooley was the director of Toy Story 4, taking over from John Lasseter – the director of the first three films – who left Pixar in 2017 following allegations of misconduct at the California animation studio.
Cooley has since left Pixar to direct an animated Transformers movie for Paramount slated for release in 2024, which likely rules him out of directing Toy Story 5.
However, with a slew of talent at Pixar, expect someone from the studio to be handed the reins for the fifth film.
Toy Story 5 is currently in development at Pixar.
Watch: Tom Hanks explains how Toy Story changed his life
