Frozen fans already had a lot to look forward to with Frozen 3 recently getting a release date in 2027 and the confirmation that Frozen 4 is also in development. However, one big question was just who would direct the new Frozen films. Jennifer Lee had indicated that her duties as Chief Creative Officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios meant she wouldn’t be able to do it. But apparently, when forced to choose between running the studio and Frozen, Lee has chosen Anna and Elsa.
In a huge and completely unexpected movie, Disney has announced that effective immediately Jennifer Lee is stepping down as CCO of Walt Disney Animation Studios. She will return to filmmaking as the writer and director of Frozen 3 and will co-write Frozen 4. In her place will be Disney Animation veteran Jared Bush, the director of Encanto and Zootopia who has been part of Disney’s Creative Leadership team for many years.
Jennifer Lee’s Return To The Frozen Franchise Is Great News For Fans
This is great news if you’re a fan of Frozen. While there may have been others quite capable of making great Frozen movies, the franchise was created by Jennifer Lee, so the fact that she’ll be returning to the franchise is exciting. Anna and Elsa are in the best hands they could possibly be in.
Lee will essentially run the Frozen franchise going forward, which has grown far beyond films in recent years. World of Frozen opened at Hong Kong Disneyland last year and a second version of the land is set to open at Disneyland Paris in 2026.
Lee took over as CCO of Disney Animation in 2017 following the unceremonious exit of John Lasseter from the post following allegations of misconduct within the company. For the first two years, she split her time between that role and the director of Frozen II. Once the movie was released Lee focused full-time on the CCO role.
Lee is quoted in the announcement from Disney that the decision to step down was hers, but CEO Bob Iger and Disney Studios chief Alan Bergman supported the decision. It’s not surprising that they would. Frozen is a massively important franchise to Disney, and any step that’s going to help ensure that the upcoming Frozen sequels succeed is good news.
Disney Animation’s New CCO Takes Over At A Key Time
Frozen II was the last big hit that Disney Animation had. The pandemic would follow shortly after its release. Raya and the Last Dragon was released while many theaters were still closed. Encanto, Strange World, and Wish were all disappointments at the box office, though Encanto would find new life on Disney+.
Jared Bush now finds himself in a similar situation that Lee was in when she took on the CCO role. Bush is directing Zootopia 2 which will hit theaters in November 2025. He’ll have to take on his new executive roles while still shepherding the film through its completion. Considering the first Zootopia's billion-dollar box office, a lot is riding on the sequel as well as Moana 2 which will hit theaters this November.
