Toy Story 4 Producer Explains How Disney+ Offers a Future for the Franchise

After what seemed like a pretty definitive ending in Toy Story 3, Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 4 really closed the book on the tale of Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear. The rivals-turned-friends finally said goodbye to one another in the final moments of Toy Story 4, officially completing their 24 year saga. The creative team behind the latest movie has been adamant that there are zero plans for a Toy Story 5 in the future, but that doesn’t mean that parts of the beloved franchise won’t find a way to continue, especially now that the Disney+ streaming service.

To celebrate Toy Story 4‘s arrival on Digital HD this week, ComicBook.com spoke with producer Mark Nielsen about the film and what could be in store for the franchise down the road. There is a series of shorts called Forky Asks a Question coming to Disney+ after it launches in November and there’s a chance that it could lead to even more Toy Story-inspired projects later on. The freedom of the streaming service provides those sort of possibilities.

“Disney+ actually gives us such a great opportunity to do exactly that,” Nielsen told us. “I was fortunate enough to produce the Forky Asks a Question series, these 10 films that we made for Disney+, and there’s another production unit within Pixar that made Lamp Life, the backstory of Bo Peep, before Toy Story 4, and that’s coming out on Disney+.

“This is a new kind of way to tell stories and release them that we didn’t really have before. We’ve always done short films, and the DVDs often had a short film, but this does give us a greater chance. And while we don’t have anything in mind or any production related to Toy Story right now, beyond Lamp Life and Forky Asks a Question, the door is certainly open to that. And you’re right, these characters have such a great implied history and implied future. You can take any of these characters down a lot of really interesting roads.”

It doesn’t exactly sound like Toy Story has anything specific in the works right now for Disney+, outside of Forky’s series of short films. However, with the ability to produce both features and TV shows on the service, the options for more Toy Story projects are nearly endless. Let’s hope the studio gets the opportunity.

Do you want to see more from your favorite Toy Story characters on Disney+? Let us know in the comments!

Toy Story 4 is available now on Digital HD and on Blu-ray and 4K UHD October 8th.