After Frozen 2 made $1.45 billion at the box office worldwide and became the second highest-grossing animated film of all time, it was expected that Disney would immediately announce a third movie in the franchise. Though that didn’t happen, much to the disappointment of fans, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the film studio has already ruled out a potential Frozen 3.
In a recent interview with PopCulture.com, Josh Gad, who voiced the adorable snowman Olaf in the first two Frozen films, said that there will only be a third movie if the franchise creators led by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck have a story worth exploring.
“Here’s the deal. Frozen 2 wasn’t Frozen 2 until there was a reason to exist. And similarly, I don’t know if and when there will be a Frozen 3,” Gad explained. “That’s way above my pay grade, but what I can tell you is this: There was an opportunity to take these characters and bring again a sense of hope and inspiration. And it’s why the team at Disney and I teamed up on the past couple of weeks to do At Home with Olaf. And so the Frozen saga continues, even if it’s not necessarily in the form of a third movie. But we’ll see! If there’s always a story worth telling, I’m sure that Jennifer Lee and the incredible team over at Disney animation will tell that story one day.”
Made during the COVID-19 pandemic, At Home with Olaf is an animated short film series that premiered on Walt Disney Animation Studios’ YouTube Channel on April 6th. It ended on May 13th with a special musical montage short, entitled I Am with You, which contains clips from the original Frozen movie and other Disney animated films, such as Dumbo, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, Wreck-It Ralph, and more.
At Frozen 2’s Los Angeles press day in November, Lee, who directed the first two movies with Buck, revealed that she’s not closing the door for a potential Frozen 3. “It feels complete to me, but I don’t know. Chris says ask him in a year,” Lee told CinemaBlend when asked if there would be a third movie in the franchise.
Buck, just like Lee, has a “never say never” mindset regarding another Frozen movie. “I mean, nothing ever closes the door,” Buck told Insider in September. “But for us, that’s what got us figuring out what the story [of Frozen 2] would be a few years ago. ‘What if we could tell one complete story?’”
In addition to Gad, Frozen 2 also stars other returning cast members Idina Menzel as Elsa, Kristen Bell as Anna, Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, and Ciarán Hinds as Grand Pabbie. The original cast are joined franchise newcomers Sterling K. Brown, Evan Rachel Wood, Alfred Molina, Martha Plimpton, Jason Ritter, Rachel Matthews, and Jeremy Sisto.