Toy Story 4 has been met with some trepidation since the announcement was made that it was moving forward; fans of the first three films are divided about it, because as much as they’d love to see their favorite characters one more time, the third installment so perfectly and neatly wrapped up the world of Woody and his pals. Now, another announcement about the film has them even more torn.
Pixar president Jim Morris says that the movie won’t be a continuation of the story picking up where part three left off; rather, it will be a romantic comedy.
“It will be a love story. It will be a romantic comedy. It will not put much focus on the interaction between the characters and children,” Morris said.
Although the first three films were huge money makers, both Morris and director John Lasseter say that the fourth film isn’t about big box office numbers. Instead, it was an idea that came up that appealed to them so much they couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“We love these character so much; they are like family to us. We don’t want to do anything with them unless it lives up to or surpasses what’s gone before,” Lasseter said in a statement.
The Pixar team has brought Rashida Jones and Will McCormack in to write, which they say was important to the story. The team previously worked on Celeste And Jesse Forever, starring Jones and Andy Samberg.
“They have such a great sense of character and originality. And I wanted to get a strong female voice in the writing of this,” Lasseter said.
Toy Story 4 is set to premiere in June of 2017.