Disney already has plans for Frozen 4, but the story of Anna and Elsa’s fourth adventure is still taking shape. And according to Disney Animation chief Jared Bush, settling on that story too early could make it harder to get Frozen 3 right.
Speaking with Collider at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, Bush said he likes to have a rough idea of where the characters are headed emotionally. That gives the filmmakers a direction while leaving them room to make changes to the movie they’re working on.
“I think you have to have a rough sense of emotionally where you want your characters to go, a sense of an emotional journey,” he explained. “The plot behind that, at least for me, is secondary to the character journey.”
“But then you also need to think, ‘Okay, well, if there was a future story, what might that look like?’ So you have to have a rough sense of that,” he continued. “But I’d say in my personal experience, I try not to go too in the weeds on that because it can lock you into a Frozen 3 that you may want to change or make better.”
Summing up the concern more directly, Bush said, “If you’re so rigid on what [Frozen] 4 might look like, then it could stifle you, and that’s not something that I want to do.”
With Frozen 3 on the immediate horizon, you may be wondering what the prospect of an already-confirmed fourth movie would mean for the third entry's ending. One would assume the third film will primarily set up the next adventure; however, Bush wants it to feel fulfilling in its own right.
“We want to make sure that Frozen 3 is the best movie it can possibly be, so that when you get to the end of the movie, do you feel like you’ve watched a complete story? That it feels like something that feels fulfilling," he said.
This isn't necessarily a promise that every loose end will be resolved though, as Bush acknowledged that a satisfying conclusion doesn't require everything to be "buttoned up," leaving room for the franchise to continue.
He also revealed that an early ambition to deliver the two sequels in quick succession has changed. The priority now is giving the third movie the story it needs, while keeping an eye on where its characters could go afterward. In other words, Anna and Elsa's emotional journey will help shape the sequel, but the specific plot will have room to evolve.
Frozen 3 is slated to arrive in theaters on November 24, 2027.