At a Disney shareholder meeting – out of which also came some Star Wars news – Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the company is still interested in making money by announcing they will release a sequel to the 2013 animated hit Frozen. Iger also confirmed that the original’s co-directors, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, will be involved with the project, though their exact roles have not been confirmed.
Idina Menzel (who played Elsa in the original) – not to mention the box-office receipts – first announced late last year that there would be a sequel. This makes it a safe bet that Menzel will return as the ice-blasting queen who learned to “Let it Go” in the previous movie. No official word has been released on casting, but it would be safe to assume that Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), and Olaf (Josh Gad) will also be returning to the film.
Audiences can whet their appetites for more from the Frozen universe with the short Frozen Fever, which will accompany all showings of the live-action remake of their animated classic, Cinderella. Frozen Fever is an epilogue to the original movie and will center on the preparations for Anna’s birthday party. There are also plans for a Broadway musical down the road.
Disney also recently announced that they have two animated movies due out next year, the wrong-animal caper Zootopia, and Moana, a high-seas adventure. No release date has been announced for the Frozen sequel but its unlikely we’ll see the movie before 2017.