Disney Director Opens Up on Elsa's 'Frozen 4' Enemy

In an interview with Collider , Jared Bush , creative director of Walt Disney Animation Studios , revealed new details about Frozen 3, including the arrival of a new villain who may be even more powerful than Elsa (Idina Menzel), the wedding of Anna (Kristen Bell) and Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), and the development of new songs for the animation.

According to Bush, the third film should surprise audiences. "We have a very special story for people. I think it's one that will surprise a lot of people. And we have a completely new character coming, a new villain, in the world of Frozen, and someone who may be more powerful than Elsa. So, there's a lot going on", he anticipated.

The executive also confirmed that the plot begins shortly after the events of Frozen 2 (2019), which ended with Kristoff proposing to Anna. This time, the audience will finally witness the ceremony. "If you remember the end of 'Frozen 2', Kristoff finally proposed to Anna. This film begins with their wedding. So, not much time has passed between these events. How much time exactly? You'll only find out in the film", he revealed.

Another highlight of the interview was the progress of the soundtrack. Composers Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, responsible for hits like "Let it Go", "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman? " and "Into the Unknown", are back for the third film and are already working on new songs.

Bush revealed that the duo already has approximately five songs well advanced in the songwriting process and is currently working on one of the most exciting tracks of the production.

"There's a song we heard during Anna and Kristoff's wedding that's spectacular. But I won't go into details", the executive commented.

The expectation is that the new soundtrack will be able to replicate the cultural impact of the music from the first films, while still presenting its own identity. Bush acknowledged the challenge of maintaining a balance between novelty and familiarity: "As you move from one film to another, you want those songs to sound different, you don't want to be repeating yourself, but you also don't want them to sound like music from a completely different type of film. So, it's a lot of work". 

Regarding the planning for Frozen 4, Bush was cautious. He stated that, although the studio has a general idea of ​​the franchise's future, the team tries not to delve too deeply into the details so as not to stifle the third film. "If you're so rigid on what [Frozen] 4 might look like, then it could stifle you, and that's not something that I want to do", he explained.

Although both films are in development, the gap between them may not be as short as previously thought. Bush agreed that the difference between Frozen 3 and Frozen 4 should be about three years, but the studio is in no hurry. He cited the billion-dollar box office success of Toy Story 5 and Zootopia 2 after long waiting periods to justify the strategy. "Something I noticed, certainly for Disney Animation, is if the future story is great, it doesn't matter how much time has passed". 

Everything you need to know about the future of Frozen

For now, there is no information about a possible live-action adaptation of Frozen, as recently happened with Lilo & Stitch and will happen again in 2026 with Moana.

Although there are still no announced plans for a live-action Frozen, Disney is betting big on the animated franchise. According to filmmaker Jennifer Lee, Frozen 3 and Frozen 4 are being developed at the same time in the writers’ room assembled by the studio. 

Frozen 4 is not expected to arrive before 2029.