Josh Cooley to Co-Direct Toy Story 4 with John Lasseter

March 12, 2015

Pixar has announced that Josh Cooley, head of story on their summer release Inside Out, will co-direct the hotly-anticipated Toy Story 4 with original director and company CCO John Lasseter.

Rootin’, tootin’ news from the playset: Josh Cooley (@CooleyUrFaceOff) will co-direct #ToyStory4, debuting in 2017. pic.twitter.com/tkcggO0zVT

— Disney•Pixar (@DisneyPixar) March 11, 2015

“To be co-director on ‘Toy Story 4’ with John, who brought the ‘Toy Story’ characters to the screen 20 years ago, is a dream come true,” Cooley told Variety. “When I first saw ‘Toy Story’ I was amazed by the groundbreaking computer-generated animation. But it was the strong storytelling that kept me coming back. ‘Toy Story 4’ will continue that tradition and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it!”

Besides his work at Pixar, where he began as an intern in the story department on Cars, Cooley has been a prolific contributor to LA’s Gallery 1988, which helped him launch his children’s book parody Movies R Fun!: A Collection of Cinematic Classics for the Pre-(Film) School Cinephile. The book featured memorably violent or obscene scenes from movies hilariously reimagined in the style of Golden Books, such as this.

The script for Toy Story 4 will be provided by actors-turned-screenwriters Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, who previously penned and starred in Celeste and Jesse Forever. They’re working from a story idea by Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, and Lee Unkrich. Pixar’s Galyn Susman will produce.

Although officially unconfirmed at this time, it’s just about a certainty that Toy Story 4 will feature the return of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and the rest of the hit franchise’s diverse voice talent. It will be released on June 16, 2017.