You remember the exact moment you first heard “You’ve got a friend in me.” Maybe you were seven years old, sitting in a dark theater with popcorn balanced on your knees. Or maybe you watched it on a fuzzy VHS tape at your cousin’s house on a rainy Saturday.
Either way, that film got into you. And now, years later, you’re here, asking the question millions of fans have been quietly hoping to answer: is Toy Story 5 coming?
The answer is yes. And it’s closer than you think.
It’s Official
This is not a rumor or a fan-made trailer that spiraled out of control. Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed during a 2023 earnings call that a fifth installment was in active development at Pixar. Since then, the project has moved steadily through production, and the details have come into sharp focus.
The film is confirmed, built by the same team that has shepherded this franchise since 1995. The same creative discipline that made the first four films resonate across generations is, by all accounts, guiding this one too.
The Release Date Is Set
The Toy Story 5 release date is June 19, 2026. Disney has locked it into their theatrical calendar, and it will be a cinema-only release, no simultaneous streaming drop, no Disney+ debut alongside it. You’ll need to be in a theater for this one.
That summer placement is intentional. Pixar has long favored peak family moviegoing season for its biggest releases, and this one carries perhaps more expectation than anything the studio has put out in years.
Andrew Stanton is Directing
Andrew Stanton is at the helm, and that matters more than it might sound. He co-wrote all four previous films in this series, directed Finding Nemo and WALL-E, and even voiced Emperor Zurg in Toy Story 2. He knows this universe from the inside.
McKenna Harris, who directed the short Ciao Alberto in 2021, serves as co-director. At D23 in August 2024, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter confirmed that Stanton would both direct and write the film, meaning the story is being shaped by someone who helped define what these characters are.
What the Story Is Actually About
The official tagline is “Toy meets Tech,” and it tells you quite a lot about where this is going.
The toys, Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest, are facing a new kind of threat. Not a villain in the traditional sense, but something more unsettling: irrelevance. The world Bonnie lives in is saturated with screens and devices. Their sense of purpose, to be there for their kid, has never felt more fragile.
Bonnie, who inherited the toys at the end of the third film, remains central to the story. The new antagonist is Lilypad, voiced by Greta Lee, a sleek, confident smart tablet who arrives in Bonnie’s life with her own ideas about what’s best for her.
Stanton previewed the opening scene at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2025, describing it as “surprising” with “cool things you’ve never seen before.” Early reactions were warm.
Any parent who has watched a child ignore a room full of toys to stare at a screen will understand this conflict immediately. Pixar has always used children’s stories to say something true about adult life, and this one looks set to do exactly that.
The Cast: Who’s Back, Who’s New
Nearly the entire ensemble returns. Tom Hanks is back as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, Joan Cusack as Jessie, Tony Hale as Forky, Annie Potts as Bo Peep, Keanu Reeves as Duke Caboom, Wallace Shawn as Rex, John Ratzenberger as Hamm, Blake Clark as Slinky Dog, Bonnie Hunt as Dolly, and Kristen Schaal as Trixie.
A few roles have been respectfully recast. Jeff Bergman steps in for the late Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, Anna Vocino replaces the late Estelle Harris as Mrs. Potato Head, and Ernie Hudson takes over from the late Carl Weathers as Combat Carl.
New additions include Conan O’Brien as a character named Smarty Pants, Greta Lee as Lilypad, Craig Robinson, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, and Matty Matheson. Scarlett Spears voices an older Bonnie.
Tom Hanks confirmed his recording sessions are done. Tim Allen wrapped his in November 2025, a clear sign that production is deep into its final stretch.
The Teaser Trailer Already Broke Records
A teaser dropped in late 2025 and accumulated 142 million views in 24 hours, among the biggest trailer launches in Pixar history.
It opens on Bonnie’s room in soft light. Instead of reaching for her toys, she’s under the covers with a glowing tablet. Woody, Buzz, and Jessie watch from the shelf, uncertain. Then Lilypad appears, polished and self-assured, with a line that lands hard: “The Age of Toys Is Over.”
The footage was first shown at Annecy in June 2025, then again at Destination D23 in August. A full theatrical trailer is expected sometime in early 2026.
What About Woody’s Goodbye in Part Four?
Toy Story 4 ended with Woody choosing to leave, a genuine, tearful farewell that felt like a real ending. Fans noticed. So how does he come back?
Pete Docter has explained that Woody is called back when Bonnie’s situation becomes urgent, when Lilypad’s growing influence puts everything the toys stand for at risk. The story creates a reason. Whether that reason lands emotionally is something audiences will decide in June 2026, but the creative team is clearly aware of the weight it carries.
The reunion of Buzz and Woody has been one of the most discussed aspects of this whole announcement. Fans are cautiously optimistic. Some are skeptical. Everyone is watching.
Why This Film Carries Real Weight
The Toy Story franchise has always been about more than toys. The first film was about jealousy and friendship. The second was about worth and identity. The third, the one that made a generation of young adults cry, was about growing up and letting go. The fourth was about belonging.
This one appears to be about relevance, about what it means to matter to someone in a world designed to distract them. If you’ve ever felt quietly sidelined by something newer and shinier, this film may hit closer to home than you expect.
Pete Docter has said the team only moved forward because they found something genuinely worth saying. That restraint, the willingness to wait until the story is real before making the movie, is exactly what has kept this series from feeling like product.
The film sits in the middle of Disney’s 2026 animated lineup, but it carries more cultural weight than almost anything else on that calendar. This franchise helped define modern animated filmmaking. What it does next genuinely matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Toy Story 5 the final film in the series? There’s no official confirmation either way. Pixar hasn’t announced a sixth installment, and no one involved has framed this as a definitive closing chapter. It’s being made as its own complete story.
When is it releasing in theaters? June 19, 2026, exclusively in cinemas. No streaming release alongside the theatrical run.
Who is the villain? Lilypad, voiced by Greta Lee, is the central antagonist, a smart tablet that doesn’t feel like a traditional villain so much as a quietly convincing force that makes the toys question whether they still matter.
Will Randy Newman return to score the film? Yes. Newman confirmed in February 2026 that he has composed the music for the fifth film, continuing his work across the entire franchise.
Has a full trailer been released? Only a teaser so far, which broke records in late 2025. A full trailer is expected in early 2026 ahead of the summer release.
June 19, 2026. The cast is done recording. Stanton is in the edit. Newman is scoring. And somewhere on Bonnie’s shelf, in the quiet after the lights go out, the toys are waiting.
You should probably start counting the days.
