Pixar President Says 'Toy Story 4' Will Be A "Romantic Comedy" Not Tied To The Trilogy

nullYou may be trying to forget this is real and happening, but indeed, a release date has been set, John Lasseter is returning to direct, and "Toy Story 4" is coming soon a theater near you. For many fans, who view the original trilogy as a near perfect animated accomplishment, the news has been a bit dismaying, with many questions to be answered. At the time the news broke last year, it was reported the fourth installment would be a "love story," and now we have a couple more details about what Pixar will do to continue the story…and it seems they might be leaving the original trilogy alone.

Chatting with Disney Latino, Pixar president Jim Morris shared a few kernels of intel about the brewing sequel. "I think this movie is not part of this trilogy. It is a separate story, which in turn I do not know if will be continued […] It is not a continuation of the end of the story of ‘Toy Story 3," he said, "Temporarily it is, but it will be a love story. It will be a romantic comedy. It will not put much focus on the interaction between the characters and children."

Careful wording aside, it looks like the focus is turning strictly to the toys, which makes sense — more opportunities for corporate synergy with other toymakers (and I would not be shocked if a "Star Wars" character somehow comes into the fold given this era of franchise cross-breeding). But the interaction and importance of the human characters to the toys is what gave the original "Toy Story" movies emotional heft, so it’s a curious move. That said, Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, who co-wrote "Celeste and Jesse Forever," are working on the script, and they could certainly pull off this task, which has tremendously high expectations on it, and make it work.

"Toy Story 4" arrives on June 16, 2017. [via ScreenCrush]