Pixar has a long track record of producing successful animated movies, but the performance of Finding Nemo, but recently the quality of their productions has come into question.
It's been clear in recent years that Pixar desperately wants to do new things, but the studio's original stories have yielded mixed results. While Lightyear's critical and commercial failure, as well as the desire from audiences to see more of the familiar, the logical next step for the franchise would be Toy Story 5.
What Pixar Has Said About Toy Story 5
Pixar has not yet announced Toy Story 5, but there are mixed views within the Toy Story cast on whether it will happen. Tom Hanks, the voice of Woody, has gone on record to say that Inside Out 2, which should fill out the studio's schedule until 2024, so if Toy Story 5 were to happen then it wouldn't come until 2025 at the earliest.
Could More Lightyear-Style Pixar Spinoffs Happen?
The lackluster response to Lightyear could signal the end of spinoffs of major Pixar franchises. The Buzz Lightyear shown on screen wasn't the same Buzz that Pixar fans have grown accustomed to, from his different look, the change in Buzz Lightyear's voice, and his new friends around him. Arguably a spinoff of Woody's Roundup would have been a better option because it would have starred characters that audiences are already familiar with, like Jessie and Bullseye, and Woody's personality would not have needed to be changed as much as Buzz's was in Lightyear.
But Pixar still has plenty of existing universes and characters that are ready for their own spinoffs. ing characters like The Incredibles' Frozone and Edna Mode are widely popular despite minimal screen time and have been on plenty of off-screen adventures that just haven't been shown yet. Unexplored parts of the Lightyear didn't have the impact Pixar wanted, it doesn't need to be the end of spinoff projects entirely.
