Pixar had plenty to celebrate at D23, with the animation studio using Disney’s biggest fan event to showcase an ambitious slate of upcoming films and Disney+ projects. After the enormous success of Inside Out 2, which became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, the studio arrived at D23 with renewed confidence and a mixture of familiar franchises and original ideas.

Among the biggest announcements were Incredibles 3 and Toy Story 5, while audiences were also treated to new looks at upcoming projects including Elio and the newly announced Hoppers. Pixar also highlighted its growing collection of original streaming projects, demonstrating that the studio’s future will extend well beyond the cinema.

Incredibles 3 is officially happening

One of the loudest cheers of the Pixar presentation came when Pete Docter confirmed that Incredibles 3 is officially in development. The announcement arrives more than 20 years after the original The Incredibles first introduced audiences to the Parr family. The 2004 film became one of Pixar’s most beloved movies, while its 2018 sequel became a major box-office success.

Brad Bird is returning to write and direct the third instalment, giving fans another reason to be excited. While specific story details remain under wraps, the announcement confirms that Pixar is once again returning to the world of superheroes, following the Parr family as they continue their extraordinary adventures.

The project also demonstrates how important Pixar’s established franchises have become to the studio. Following the success of Inside Out 2, another major sequel gives Pixar a familiar property with enormous audience recognition while allowing the filmmakers to develop a new story.

Toy Story 5 gets the spotlight

Pixar also brought Toy Story 5 to D23, confirming that the next chapter in the hugely successful franchise is moving forward. Andrew Stanton, who worked on the original Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo and WALL-E, is directing the film. The movie is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on 19th June 2026.

The central idea behind Toy Story 5 is particularly interesting. Rather than simply repeating the emotional journey of previous films, the new story will explore the relationship between toys and modern technology, with Buzz, Woody and the other toys facing a new challenge as children increasingly become absorbed by digital entertainment.

That gives the sequel an opportunity to tackle a very modern question: what happens to traditional toys in a world where children have access to tablets, phones, games and other digital experiences from an increasingly young age. The premise could allow Pixar to combine the comedy and adventure that audiences expect from Toy Story with another surprisingly emotional exploration of childhood.

Hoppers introduces Pixar’s next original world

Perhaps the most intriguing announcement for fans interested in Pixar’s original storytelling was Hoppers.

The film follows Mabel, a young girl who discovers technology that allows her consciousness to be transferred into a robotic beaver. This gives her the ability to enter the animal world and communicate with beavers while attempting to understand the creatures and their environment. The concept sounds quintessentially Pixar: take an unusual technological idea, put it in the hands of a child and use it to explore a much bigger emotional story.

Hoppers is also significant because Pixar has repeatedly emphasised that original films remain an important part of its future. Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter has previously discussed the studio’s desire to balance sequels with new stories and new filmmaking voices. After years in which Pixar’s original films have had to compete with some of its biggest established franchises, Hoppers could become an important test of whether a completely new Pixar world can capture audiences in the same way that Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Up and Inside Out once did.

Elio continues Pixar’s return to original storytelling

Pixar also offered fans more from Elio, another major original project.

The film centres on Elio, a boy who is accidentally transported into an interplanetary organisation and mistaken for Earth’s leader. Instead of simply returning home, he becomes caught up in an enormous intergalactic adventure. D23 audiences were given an extended look at the film, offering a better sense of its colourful science-fiction world and its emotional core.

Elio is particularly important for Pixar because it represents exactly the kind of original storytelling that the studio has said it wants to continue developing. Pete Docter has stressed that Pixar does not want to simply repeat ideas from previous films, even when working within existing franchises. With Elio, Pixar once again has the opportunity to build a completely new universe around an unfamiliar character.

Inside Out continues beyond the films

Inside Out 2 was already one of Pixar’s biggest success stories by the time D23 arrived. The sequel became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, demonstrating just how much audiences still connected with Riley and the emotions inside her mind.

Pixar is now expanding that world beyond the cinema. Dream Productions, a Disney+ series set between the events of Inside Out and Inside Out 2, explores the studio inside Riley’s mind responsible for creating her dreams. All four episodes premiered on Disney+ on 11th December 2024.

The project represents an increasingly important part of Pixar’s strategy. Rather than restricting its worlds to feature films, the studio can now use Disney+ to explore characters, settings and ideas that might not necessarily support another two-hour theatrical movie.

Win or Lose brings Pixar to television

Pixar also continued expanding into original television programming with Win or Lose. The series follows a softball team in the week leading up to a championship game, but each episode tells the story from the perspective of a different character. That includes the children, their parents and even the umpire.

The concept gives Pixar an opportunity to experiment with perspective in a way that would be difficult to achieve in a traditional feature film. Instead of presenting one definitive version of events, the series can show how the same situation looks completely different depending on who is experiencing it. It is another example of Pixar experimenting with storytelling formats rather than simply adapting its existing films for television.

A balance between sequels and new ideas

Perhaps the biggest story behind Pixar’s D23 announcements was not any single film, but the balance of the overall slate. On one side, Pixar is leaning heavily into established franchises. Toy Story 5 and Incredibles 3 demonstrate that the studio is willing to revisit some of its most recognisable properties.

On the other, Hoppers and Elio show that original films remain central to Pixar’s plans. That balance has become increasingly important for the studio. Pixar’s recent history has been complicated by changing audience habits, the pandemic’s impact on cinemas and the rapid expansion of streaming. Several original Pixar films, including Soul, Luca and Turning Red, were released directly to Disney+ during the pandemic period, changing the way audiences experienced the studio’s movies.

The enormous theatrical performance of Inside Out 2, however, demonstrated that Pixar’s films can still become major cinematic events. D23 therefore felt like something of a statement of intent. Pixar is not abandoning its franchises, but it is also not abandoning original storytelling.

Pixar’s next chapter

The announcements at D23 suggest that Pixar is entering a fascinating new phase.

Toy Story 5 and Incredibles 3 provide the studio with major established properties capable of attracting audiences who already have a strong emotional connection with the characters. At the same time, Hoppers and Elio give Pixar opportunities to create the next generation of original characters and worlds.

Meanwhile, projects such as Dream Productions and Win or Lose demonstrate that Pixar is becoming more comfortable using Disney+ as another storytelling platform. The studio’s challenge will be finding the right balance. Sequels can provide familiarity, but Pixar’s reputation was built on making audiences care about characters and worlds they had never seen before.

That is ultimately what makes the current slate so interesting. Pixar is looking backwards and forwards at the same time. The next few years will see the return of some of the studio’s most famous characters, while also introducing audiences to completely new worlds. If Pixar can make those original stories resonate in the same way as its classics, the D23 announcements could mark the beginning of another major era for the studio.