Toy Story 5’s Original Plan Should Fix 1 Major Fear About the Pixar Sequel

One of the biggest animated movie franchises of all time is coming back. Toy Story 5 already has big expectations surrounding it, especially because of its surprisingly timely premise. But at the same time, Pixar probably expected a somewhat complicated reaction too, considering Toy Story 4 already felt like such a complete ending with Woody’s goodbye. So the moment the sequel confirmed the character’s return in the trailer, a lot of people immediately assumed the franchise was doing exactly what Hollywood loves doing these days: walking back important endings just because the brand still makes money. And it’s hard to blame people for thinking that.

Toy Story has reached a point where any continuation feels incredibly risky, regardless of whether the new story is good or not. This is a movie series that created such a rare emotional standard in cinema that audiences can’t really look at the films as just animated productions anymore. Even the smallest detail can become a reason for people to say the entire legacy has been ruined. However, this whole situation was actually way more thought-out than expected.

Toy Story 5 Was Always Aware of the Risks of Bringing Woody Back

So far, everything revealed about Toy Story 5 points toward a story centered on toys trying to find their place in a generation completely dominated by technology. In the new sequel, Bonnie gets a tablet called Lilypad and becomes obsessed with the device, leaving all the toys feeling threatened. Because of that, Buzz, Jessie, and the entire group have to deal with a crisis about their own relevance in a world where playing with toys no longer feels as important as it once did. It’s still unclear exactly how Woody returns in the story, although the trailer already revealed that Jessie reaches out to him. But considering the ending of Toy Story 4, that detail immediately got fans thinking.

In the previous movie, Woody basically decides to leave Bonnie and the other toys behind to live as a “lost toy” alongside Bo Peep. The idea was that he finally accepted he didn’t need to exist solely for one specific child anymore. As emotional and bittersweet as it was, it felt like a satisfying ending for what many assumed would be the franchise’s conclusion. So bringing him back now obviously raised suspicions and made people question whether it was really necessary. The thing is that during the movie’s development process, Pixar actually thought about that issue very carefully. Woody wasn’t even supposed to be part of the movie at first.

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According to writer and director Andrew Stanton, the earliest drafts of the screenplay were written without the character specifically because the team knew bringing him back could feel like a step backward after Toy Story 4. It was only later in development that they realized it simply wasn’t working. “I do admit that I didn’t know how to bring him back at first, and so I just — ’cause I know it’s gonna take so many drafts to get the movie right — I just wrote the first one without him just to see if I missed him. And, I did,” he explained in an interview with CinemaBlend. “So I said, alright, we’re gonna have to work a little harder and figure out how to make this not just a knee jerk reaction and make it something that’s earned to make ’em come in. We finally figured it out and now I can’t imagine it any other way.”

The fact that Pixar seriously considered making a Toy Story movie without Woody shows the studio at least understood the risk involved, and that’s actually a good sign. “My rule is if you take something out, especially a character, would the story be able to happen with or without them?” Stanton shared. “And if it can’t, that means good, that they had to be essential no matter how much it may not be obvious the role they’re playing in the movie,” he added. So they know what they’re doing.

Why Woody Is Still So Important to the Franchise

The reality is that Toy Story 4 already had a somewhat complicated reputation among fans. A lot of people loved the movie, but there’s also a portion of the audience that never bought the decision to separate Woody from the other toys. For some viewers, it felt like a natural evolution for the character; for others, it felt like a forced goodbye created only to justify the fourth movie’s existence. So announcing another sequel right after that was always going to make it seem like Pixar was undoing everything all over again.

But looking at the concept behind the new movie, Woody’s return actually makes more sense than it initially seemed. And why is that? Well, the entire Toy Story franchise has always revolved around the fear of being replaced: in the first movie, Buzz threatens to take Woody’s place. In Toy Story 2, there’s the fear of abandonment. Toy Story 3 focuses on Andy growing up and the end of that childhood era. Then Toy Story 4 questions what happens when a toy completely loses its original purpose. Now, Toy Story 5 apparently wants to explore a generation where physical toys may no longer be a priority at all. And that fits Woody because he has always basically been the personification of the fear of becoming irrelevant. It actually makes perfect sense for him to return in a story about toys trying to survive in a world dominated by technology.

If Pixar were just making another sequel for the sake of continuing the franchise, Woody probably would have been the very first character confirmed instead of someone who was added later. There wouldn’t have been any reason to “hide” him.

At the end of the day, there’s a very thin line between effective nostalgia and exhausting repetition. And so far, Toy Story 5 at least seems interested in finding something new to say within this universe while still thinking carefully about what actually makes sense for the story. Considering the current state of Hollywood franchises, especially with Disney becoming increasingly criticized for always relying on existing IPs without much real purpose behind them, that difference matters a lot.

Toy Story 5 hits theaters on June 19.

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