Frozen 3, Shrek 5, Toy Story 5 and The Super Mario Bros Movie 2 are the highly anticipated animated sequels set to be released in 2026.
Super Mario Bros Movie 2
Following the box office success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), the upcoming animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 is expected to create a lot of excitement. The first part of The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a huge hit and the release broke the record for the highest opening weekend for an animated film in history. According to Digital Spy, the producers have not yet revealed the official title of the film and are only calling it a sequel. This implies that this film could also be a spin-off.
With a combination of advanced animation technology and an excellent voice cast, the film not only attracts young audiences but also pleases loyal audiences of the Mario game brand.
The first film introduced Mario and his brother Luigi, plumbers. But an unexpected event sent them to a parallel universe, forcing the brothers to part ways. While Mario landed in the Mushroom Kingdom, Luigi was imprisoned in the Dark Land. The sequel is expected to expand the characters beyond the Mushroom Kingdom and the Dark Land for a new series of adventures.
The Super Mario Bros Movie 2 is scheduled to be released in the US on April 3, 2026 and April 24, 2026 in Japan.
Toy Story 5
Toy Story 5 is scheduled to hit theaters on June 19, 2026. In this comeback, Toy Story 5 is expected to "recover" some of the failure of its sequel, Lightyear (2022). The summary of part 5 has not yet been announced. Previously, Toy Story 4 achieved great success globally with a total revenue of over 1 billion USD.
The Toy Story sequel will focus more on other characters, or even introduce more toys. But according to Pixar's creative director Pete Docter, Toy Story 5 will still be a Woody and Buzz movie at its core, just like the previous four installments.
Pete Doctor also revealed that Toy Story 5 will surprise fans with some never-before-seen details: "I think what's necessary for us now is to develop new original stories that make people more excited to go see them."
Shrek 5
DreamWorks Animation has announced that Shrek 5 is in development and will be released on July 1, 2026. Shrek stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz are all confirmed to return for the sequel. Meanwhile, the return of actor Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots has not been confirmed.
In June, actor Eddie Murphy revealed that he was in the process of recording for "Shrek 5" and would also lend his voice to the Donkey spin-off.
"We started working on Shrek 5 a few months ago. I've recorded the first scenes and will continue working on it this year. We're doing Shrek and next is Donkey," Murphy shared.
In the 10 years from 2001 to 2010, the "Shrek" series released 4 parts. This series helped DreamWorks Animation become a major film studio with the total global revenue for the first "Shrek" film being 487 million USD. The film also surpassed many names in the animated film category and won its first Oscar. "Shrek 2" also achieved huge revenue with 928 million USD. Both first parts of "Shrek" competed for the "Palme d'Or" award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Frozen 3
With the first two parts being incredibly successful, Disney will continue to develop its production plan for Frozen 3. Variety quoted director Jennifer Lee as saying that "she came up with an amazing idea for the sequel Frozen 3 and said it was worth looking forward to". According to Walt Disney's official announcement, the studio plans to release Frozen 3 on November 25, 2026, 13 years after the first film premiered. Frozen tells the story of the brave young girl Anna searching for her sister, the Snow Queen Elsa, who rules the kingdom of Arendelle, has the power to control wind and ice but is trapped in the kingdom of eternal winter because of an unintentional curse. Frozen is a story about the victory of love over countless difficulties and challenges. The people on that journey fought hard to overcome fear and realize the true value of love.
With a worldwide gross of nearly £1.3 billion, Frozen is one of the most popular and successful animated films of all time. In addition to winning the 2014 Oscar for Best Animated Feature, Frozen also won the award for Best Song for Let It Go.
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