'Toy Story 4' Plot: John Lasseter Steps Down From Director Role
"Toy Story 4" will now solely be directed by Josh Cooley. This is one of the major revelations to come out of the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California.
Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer John Lasseter, who directed the first three "Toy Story" films, broke the news at Disney's panel during the event.
Lasseter will still be involved in "Toy Story 4" as an executive producer. "I'm going to be working really closely with Josh and his team, mentoring him and teaching him everything I know," he said, as per IGN.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Cooley started as an intern for Pixar a decade ago, during the original "Cars" movie. Since then, he worked his way up to the hierarchy.
When he was first announced as a co-director of Lasseter for "Toy Story 4," he described it in an interview with Variety as a "dream come true."
When I first saw 'Toy Story,' I was amazed by the groundbreaking computer-generated animation. But it was the strong storytelling that kept me coming back. 'Toy Story 4' will continue that tradition and I couldn't be more excited to be a part of it!
One of Cooley's most recent works is "Inside Out," where he was head of story. That film, released in 2015, was a blockbuster success as well.
Cooley is not the only former intern playing a big role behind the camera in "Toy Story 4." According to Entertainment Weekly, Jonas Rivera, who is one of the producers for the upcoming film, also started from that position.
Lasseter and Cooley did not provide any information with regard to the plot of "Toy Story 4" during the event although a clip of Jeff Pidgeon doing voice acting work for the Aliens was shown.
It might be a while before big details come in since "Toy Story 4," originally slated for June 2017 release, will not hit the theaters until June 21, 2019.
