Pixar is getting ready to debut its newest project with the Inside Out 2 release date coming this weekend, but it’s not the only high-profile sequel the animation studio has in the pipeline. Toy Story 5 is on the way in 2026, and we may now know who is helming the project as Pixar CCO Pete Docter has reportedly stated that Pixar vet Andrew Stanton is set to direct his first Pixar film in a decade.
During a Q&A following a screening of Inside Out 2 The MontyVerse reported that Docter let it slip that Pixar original brain trust member Andrew Stanton was set to direct Toy Story 5. There’s no video of the event or an exact quote, and at the film’s premiere in L.A., Docter was mum on the director when talking to Variety, so there has still been no official announcement. We have to call this a rumor, but it’s a compelling one.
Andrew Stanton was one of the people who helped launch Pixar as an independent film studio. He wrote the screenplay for the studio’s first feature, the original Toy Story, and co-directed the second film, A Bug’s Life. He’s handled story and/or screenplay duties for every chapter of the Pixar saga, but he hasn’t directed any of them. But certainly, nobody at the studio knows the franchise better than he does.
The last time Andrew Stanton directed a Pixar film was 2016’s Finding Dory, which means if he is directing Toy Story 5, it will be a full decade between his directorial efforts when the movie is released in 2026.
Stanton has been more focused on writing and directing live-action projects of late. He directed episodes of For All Mankind and Netflix’s Three Body Problem. He also wrote two episodes of Disney’s Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series.
Having Andrew Stanton back at Pixar helming a major project is an incredibly exciting prospect. Stanton directed Finding Nemo and Wall-E, two of Pixar's best movies. Finding Dory is one of four Pixar films to have grossed over $1 billion worldwide, and two of the others are the last two Toy Story movies, so expectations for the new film are certainly high.
A lot of eyes are on Inside Out 2 to see if the movie will break Pixar’s recent string of bad luck. Both Lightyear and Elemental saw very little theatrical turnout domestically, though the latter film did find success overseas. The three movies before that were released directly on Disney+ and many have wondered if Pixar is simply a studio that audiences no longer feel a need to see in theaters.
Even if Inside Out 2 breaks the recent pattern, the studio will need several hits in a row to rebuild the momentum it had, so Toy Story 5, and Pixar's other project in the list of upcoming Disney movies, Elio, will also need to be successful. In the case of the new Toy Story film, they certainly may have found a way to help make sure that happens.
