Toy Story Writer Responds To Fans Who Feel The Franchise Should've Ended With The Third Movie

Can you blame a Millennial for feeling a little nostalgic about "Toy Story" these days? Those of us of a certain age could tie practically every childhood milestone to that beloved trilogy of Pixar movies, guiding us from adolescence to our teenage years and beyond. So, when "Toy Story 3" released in 2010 (right on the cusp of this particular writer's high school graduation, in fact), everything about it felt like the end of an era. Our gang embracing each other in the face of certain incinerator-induced death? Andy putting childish things behind him and saying goodbye to his toys forever? A satisfying sendoff that gave us and those characters alike the dignity of a conclusive ending? That's the good stuff, folks.

Naturally, Pixar ignored all this and churned out another sequel several years later, before teeing up one head-scratching spin-off movie in the form of "Lightyear" and then a fifth film set to be released next year. If you wanted to pinpoint everything wrong with studio filmmaking over the last few decades, it seemed like you couldn't possibly find a more fitting poster child. To their credit, though, the folks behind "Toy Story 5" remain fully aware that many of us would've rather seen this film series sail off into the sunset with that third movie. While speaking to Empire, original "Toy Story" writer and "Toy Story 5" director Andrew Stanton addressed the awkwardness surrounding this very topic:

"So, '3' was the end ... of the Andy years. Nobody's being robbed of their trilogy. They can have that and never watch another if they don't want to. But I've always loved how this world allows us to embrace time and change. There's no promise that it stays in amber."

Let nobody ever accuse Andrew Stanton of not knowing how to play the PR game. In retrospect, it's fairly obvious that "Toy Story 3" was never going to be allowed to kill Disney and Pixar's golden goose. We went through a similar song and dance with the fourth film, as many of the creatives on "Toy Story 4" did their best to turn the prevailing skepticism into a passionate defense of keeping this story going. Now, six years later, we're about to do it all over again with the upcoming "Toy Story 5." And, as far as spin goes, the idea that future "Toy Story" movies can't undo our love of the originals is as reasonable as it gets.

Still, this next sequel appears to have bigger ideas on its mind. While speaking to Empire, Stanton shed a little more light on what we can expect from the main conflict in "Toy Story 5." We know from previous reporting that this next film seems quite different from anything we've seen before, with an underlying tension surrounding our more old-school toys coming up against a new generation of tech-based products ... but, in vintage Pixar fashion, expect things to be a little more nuanced than that. As Stanton explained:

"Honestly, it's not even really about a battle so much as the realization of an existential problem: that nobody's really playing with toys anymore. Technology has changed everybody's lives, but we're asking what that means for us — and to our kids. We can't just get away with making tech the villain."

"Toy Story 5" may represent two more adventures than some of us signed up for, but here's hoping it'll prove worth the wait. The sequel hits theaters June 19, 2026.