Chris Buck, popular animator and screenwriter and co-director of "Frozen," recently sat down with ABC for an interview and admitted that working on the sequel, "Frozen 2," is a lot more daunting than previously imagined. He did state, however, that the film is coming along, giving fans some hope of a release date announcement sometime soon.
However, when asked how far along the team is in developing the movie, Buck answered, "We have lots of things to figure out but at least we know where we are going."
This means they already have a good idea of the film's ending but are still working on its opening and middle portion.
Topping "Frozen" will be no easy feat; it is the highest-grossing animated feature of all time, earning a total of $1.27 billion in theaters and another $300 million with its home release.
According to a report from Variety, "Frozen 2" is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2018 but there is no definitive date for it as of the time of writing. Disney may yet move the film's screening in order to work around the release schedule of other animated films in its department, especially films from its subsidiary firm Pixar.
During the interview with ABC, Buck also discussed the importance of animated films such as "Frozen," relating how these films and the messages they convey juxtapose against the realities of life. He also annecdotes the death of his son, which occurred prior to the release of "Frozen," and how it helped him realize how animated films affect people's lives.
"I take the films that I make very seriously, the messages and the morals that I'm trying to convey," Buck explained.
Disney films always receive direct-to-video sequels and many of these are not considered as part of the Disney canon since they are often created by a different studio, involving a different crew and voice cast. Thus, "Frozen 2" will be the first official sequel to any Disney animated film to hit theaters.
