Jennifer Lee Not Returning to Direct ‘Frozen 3’ (Exclusive)

thewrap.com:

Frozen” director Jennifer Lee.Lee revealed she will not be helming the third installment of the popular Disney franchise during a conversation with TheWrap at this year’s Annecy Animation Festival. “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. 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,” she said.Plans for a third “Frozen” were announced in February of this year, alongside sequels to “Toy Story” and “Zootopia.” Lee wouldn’t divulge any additional information on what the plot of this new “Frozen” is, though she will be working in some type of advisory or mentor capacity with the filmmakers of this next edition.“I’m doing what I do with all the other projects,” Lee said. “It’s really fun on ‘Frozen,’…cause we’ve lived the world for awhile together and a lot of the artists in the studio grew up with that film too, both of them, and have been there the whole way…They kinda own them as much as anyone else.”The first two “Frozen” features were massive box office successes with the first installment securing the Best Animated feature Oscar in 2014.

The Disney Company has struggled of late, with layoffs at the Pixar studios and 7,000 layoffs across the entire company. Sequels of some of their most beloved franchises are no doubt a shot in the arm to reinvigorate the box-office and brand.