Toy Story 4 details confirmed as Disney unveils film plans

Further details about a fourth Toy Story film have been revealed as Disney outlines its plans for the next two years.

The new Toy Story film will focus on the relationship between Woody and Bo Peep. Picture: Contributed

Set for release in June 2018, the film will focus on the blossoming relationship between central character Woody and Bo Peep, played by Tom Hanks and Annie Potts, and is slated for release in June 2018.

However, the new film is being described as a spin-off, rather than a direct sequel, and will see Woody and Buzz Lightyear teaming up to save Bo Peep and bring her back.

While the exact nature of Bo’s disappearance has been kept under wraps, the character featured briefly in Toy Story 3 in a flashback, after she was sold at a yard sale between the second and third films.

Disney Pixar’s chief creative officer John Lasseter revealed that the new film was a ‘very special and emotional love story,’ adding: “But it’s extremely funny too.”

Speaking at the 2015 D23 Expo in California, Lasseter explained: “What we wanted to do was find a type of story that we had not done in a Toy Story before.

“Our goal is to create something really original, something that’s different from what you’ve seen before. In every sequel we try to do something that is very different from the original, but is as good in a different way.

“We only make sequels if we come up with a story that’s as good, or better than the original. That’s our rule. We don’t do things just to print money. It’s about great stories.”

Along with Beauty and the Beast, starring Harry Potter star Emma Watson and Downton Abbey actor Dan Stevens, Disney has confirmed a third Cars film, a new Pirates of the Caribbean film and another as-yet untitled Star Wars spin-off.

There are also plans for a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, a film focusing on 101 Dalmatians villain Cruella de Vil and Gigantic, a film charting Disney’s take on the classic Jack and the Beanstalk story.

Coco, a new film from Pixar focusing on the Mexican Day of the Dead festival, is due out in November this year while 2018 will see the release of a live action Mulan film and a Mary Poppins film focusing on Michael and Jane Banks as grown-ups.

Tentative plans for 2019 include another Star Wars instalment and an Incredibles sequel, along with the possibility of Marvel films, with Captain Marvel and the Avengers rumoured to be in the pipeline.

Upcoming Disney films

Beauty and the Beast (March 17, 2017)

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 (May 5, 2017)

Cars (3) (June 16, 2017)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (July 7, 2017)

Coco (TBC; expected November 22, 2017)

Cruella (December 22, 2017)

Gigantic (March 9, 2018)

Star Wars spin-off, title TBC (May 25, 2018)

Toy Story 4 (June 15, 2018)

Mulan (November 2, 2018)

Mary Poppins Returns (December 25, 2018)