Frozen 3 has finally been confirmed by Disney, more than three years after the sequel became the highest-grossing animated movie ever.
The threequel was announced to be in development by Disney boss Bob Iger on February 8, 2023, along with sequels for Toy Story and Zootopia. The only surprise is that it's taken so long for Disney to confirm a new movie was happening.
Frozen's stars have been enjoying teasing fans with little morsels of supposed information about a third Frozen movie for a while. In June 2022, Kristen Bell "confirmed" a threequel with "zero authority".
In September 2022, her co-star Idina Menzel followed up, saying: "I can unofficially claim with no backing that there will be a Frozen 4 and 5. The trilogy and then the quadrupoly or whatever it's called."
Watch Frozen and Frozen 2 on Disney+
Talking to Digital Spy before the sequel's release, Jennifer Lee – who wrote and directed the first two movies – did say that the second movie felt like it could be the end for Anna and Elsa. Yet, as she also pointed out, they also said the same at the end of the first movie.
"For us, this feels like what we set out to accomplish. It feels like the end, but the first one felt like the end when we did it. We don't know. I think, right now, it feels like the end," she explained.
With all this in mind, here's what we can guess so far about Frozen 3 now that it's finally happening.
Frozen 3 potential release date: When could we expect Frozen 3?
Frozen 3 might have been confirmed, but we're still no closer to working out when the threequel will arrive in cinemas.
"We'll have more to share about these productions soon, but this is a great example of how we're leaning into our unrivaled brands and franchises," Iger said when he officially announced the new movie (via Deadline).
There were six years between Frozen and Frozen II, so that's as good of a marker for when we can probably expect Frozen 3. Fans might have to wait until 2025 for the return of Anna and Elsa, but it entirely depends how far along in development it is.
Directing duo Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck have been busy with new meta Disney movie Wish, which doesn't yet have a release date. We don't yet know if they'll be doing the third Frozen movie, but we'd be surprised if they weren't involved.
Frozen 3 cast: Who's coming back for Frozen 3?
It wouldn't be a Frozen movie without Kristen Bell as Anna and Idina Menzel as Elsa – both stars have voiced their willingness to return to their respective roles. Likewise, Josh Gad as Olaf and Jonathan Groff as Kristoff (and Sven) would likely return.
Elsewhere, there are likely returns from Sterling K Brown as Mattias, Jason Ritter as Northuldra member Ryder, Rachel Matthews as Ryder's sister Honeymaren and Ciarán Hinds as Rock Trolls leader Pabbie.
After flashbacks in Frozen II, we could also see more of Evan Rachel Wood and Alfred Molina as Anna and Elsa's parents Iduna and Agnarr.
Even though the movie has been confirmed, we haven't yet had any official cast announcements as of February 2023.
Frozen 3 plot: How does Frozen 2's ending set up a third movie?
The sequel sees Anna and Elsa head to the enchanted forest outside of Arendelle to discover why a mysterious voice has been calling to Elsa, and stop the enchanted spirits from destroying Arendelle.
It turns out that back in the past, there was a battle between Arendelle soldiers and the people of Northuldra who live in the forest, leading to the forest being blocked off from the rest of the world.
Long story short, they discover that their parents were on their way to Ahtohallan to discover the source of Elsa's power when they were shipwrecked. Anna and Elsa find their ship in the enchanted forest and discover that their mother was Northuldran.
What's more, their grandfather was responsible for the conflict and created a dam in the forest that was intended to weaken the Northuldran people. To right the wrongs of the past, Anna realises she needs to break the dam to free the forest.
And she does it just in time as Elsa was frozen in Ahtohallan seeking the voice, which turned out to be a memory of her mother. Elsa becomes the "fifth spirit", the bridge between the magical world and the human world, but as we all know, a bridge has two sides and Anna is the other one.
Elsa stays in the forest and Anna becomes Queen of Arendelle, ensuring that the two kingdoms live happily ever after.
It feels like a natural conclusion to the arcs set up in Frozen, delivering on the promise of the producer that the two movies would tell "one complete story". Elsa has now fully accepted her magical side and Anna has found her place in the world.
Who knows what the threequel will be about at this stage, but Gad has previously said the movie would only happen if there "was a reason to exist" like with the sequel.
"I don't know if and when there will be a Frozen 3. That's way above my pay grade," he told PopCulture.com. "If there's always a story worth telling, I'm sure that Jennifer Lee and the incredible team over at Disney animation will tell that story one day."
Let's hope they've found that story.
Frozen 3 trailer: Any Frozen 3 footage yet?
It might have been confirmed by Disney, but there's obviously still a long time before we can show you anything from Frozen 3.
But there's plenty of Frozen stuff to watch on Disney+ if you're feeling nostalgic for Arendelle.
Frozen and Frozen 2 are available to watch on Disney+.
![Frozen 2 [DVD]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1580384814-51v2g7FF7FL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=320%3A%2A "Frozen 2 [DVD]")
