On Friday, after an advanced screening of “Inside Out 2,” Pixar CCO Pete Docter seemingly confirmed that the upcoming “Toy Story 5” will be directed by longtime Pixar filmmaker Andrew Stanton.
Stanton has directed three Pixar films in his career, including “Finding Nemo” and “WALL-E” — both won the Oscar for Animated Feature. He’s also written eight films for the toon company, including “Toy Story, “Toy Story 2,” “A Bug’s Life” “WALL-E,” “Monsters Inc” and “Finding Nemo.”
Stanton, a legend of Pixar, took a break from animation and made 2012’s live-action “John Carter,” and he has the upcoming “In the Blink of An Eye” set for release this fall. He’s also attached to direct two other sci-fi live-action features, “Chairman Spaceman” and “Revolver.”
Did we really need “Toy Story 5”? I used to look forward to every movie released by Pixar, but they are now obsessed in making sequel after sequel.
The sheer brilliance of “Toy Story 3” and the way its ending seemed to resonate so perfectly, so deeply, making it, by all senses of the term, a perfect trilogy capper. “Toy Story 4” injured the integrity of its predecessor. There was no sense of relevance. Just very familiar theatrics.
At least now we have Stanton hopping back into the director’s chair in the franchise that not only built his career but was the landmark launchpad for Pixar’s assurgent climb into the mainstream back in the mid ‘90s. Stanton will always be fine in my books for creating Pixar’s visionary 2008 masterpiece “WALL-E.”