Frozen 3: Original Director Jennifer Lee Won’t Return for Next Installment

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Frozen 3: Original Director Jennifer Lee Won’t Return for Next Installment

During a recent interview with The Wrap, Jennifer Lee — best known for directing the first two Frozen movies — has confirmed she won’t return as the director for Frozen 3, which was first announced earlier this year. She revealed the story for the upcoming third installment was pitched by a new filmmaker.

“I can’t say where we are [with Frozen 3.] All our stories are driven by the artists in the studio. Where we’re going with Frozen did not come from me,” Lee said. “It came from an incredible person. That’s a new piece, I’ve told no one. And I’ve been blown away by it and I’m just having a blast with that team.”

Lee is currently the chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Before making her feature directorial debut with 2013’s Frozen, she previously wrote the screenplay for Wreck-It Ralph. Her next project is Disney’s upcoming animated musical Wish, which she co-wrote with Allison Moore.

Frozen Franchise’s Blockbuster Success

The Frozen series centers around the bond between sisters Elsa and Anna, with Elsa trying to her best to control her icy powers. In addition to winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, the 2013 film was also a box office success with a worldwide gross of over $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, the 2019 sequel was also able to gross more than $1 billion during its theatrical run.

It features the voices of Kristen Bell (The Good Place) as Anna, Idina Menzel (Wicked) as Elsa, Jonathan Groff (Hamilton) as Kristoff, and Josh Gad (Murder on the Orient Express) as Olaf the Snowman, along with Sterling K. Brown, Martha Plimpton, Rachel Matthews, Ciarán Hinds, Evan Rachel Wood, and more.