For better or for worse (the end of Toy Story 3 really was quite satisfying), Toy Story 4 is now a reality after Disney announced the film’s release date yesterday afternoon. Pixar veteran John Lasseter has already signed on to direct, and now reports have surfaced that Rashida Jones and her writing partner Will McCormack will be writing the script.
Jones and McCormack only have one feature film credit as writers—2013’s Celeste And Jesse Forever—but Jones is presumably familiar with the potent power of combining laughs and heart from her run on Parks And Recreation. And lest the new kids screw up things up too bad, Disney is hedging its bets by having the all-star team of Lasseter, WALL-E and Finding Nemo’s Andrew Stanton, Up and Monsters Inc.’s Pete Docter, and Toy Story 3’s Lee Unkrich devise the film’s storyline before turning it over to Jones and McCormack. Toy Story 4 will hit theaters on June 16, 2017, with everyone experiencing a rollercoaster ride of nostalgia-influenced emotions until then.