At Disney’s D23 Expo 2017 in Anaheim, California over the weekend, Pixar and Disney Animation head John Lasseter surprised the packed convention hall by revealing that he was stepping down as the co-director of Toy Story 4.
Lasseter did not give a reason why he was not going to co-direct his first feature since Cars 2 in 2011, but instead focused on introducing his co-director Josh Cooley, who will now receive sole directing credit on the fourth Toy Story entry. No other plot or cast details were revealed for the 2019 release.
Cooley began his career at Pixar in 2004 as an intern and later worked as a storyboard artist on The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, Up and Cars 2. He also was a screenwriter on Inside Out, and wrote and directed two shorts, including Riley’s First Date?
Toy Story 4 will be his feature directorial debut.
That was just some of the news unveiled during the Pixar/Disney Animation presentation at D23, which also featured looks at Coco, The Incredibles 2, Wreck-It Ralph 2, Frozen 2 and more.