Hidden Figures screenwriter Allison Schroeder has been recruited to cowrite Disney’s Frozen 2 with Jennifer Lee (who is further co-directing the film alongside Chris Buck). In addition to her Oscar-nominated screenwriting efforts on the aforementioned historical NASA memoir, Schroeder recently cowrote the Mouse House’s live-action film Christopher Robin (which opened in theaters earlier this month).

Disney finally confirmed that it was making a Frozen sequel in March 2015, more than a year after its original animated fairy tale musical became an Oscar-winning smash hit that grossed close to $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office. While Lee, Buck, and their many collaborators have been hard at work on the movie ever since, there have also been some major changes to the Mouse House’s internal power structure during that time, specifically in their animation departments. In fact, Lee replaced John Lasseter as Disney Animation’s Chief Creative Officer earlier this year, following Lasseter’s resignation from the position in the wake of the sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Since Lee now has a lot more on her plate to handle as Disney Animation’s CCO, Schroeder has been recruited to assist her with scripting duties on Frozen 2. THR, which broke the news, further reports that Lee will remain the primary writer on the sequel and, as such, will actively collaborate with Schroeder from hereon out. The film isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until 15 months from now, so there’s no reason for Disney fans to assume that this is a sign of trouble for Anna, Elsa, Olaf, and Kristoff’s next big screen adventure, either.

Concrete story details for Frozen 2 are being kept under-wraps for the time being, other than its plot revolves around the three main human characters from the first movie (and, of course, their magical snow-buddy). Most recently, it came to light that Sterling K. Brown and Evan Rachel Wood (the stars of TV’s This Is Us and Westworld, respectively) have joined returning Frozen voice actors Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad in the Frozen 2 cast. Sadly, though, there’s no evidence to support fan speculation that Wood is voicing Elsa’s love interest in the sequel… not yet, anyway.

Regardless, it’s encouraging to hear that Frozen 2 is being cowritten by Schroeder, all the more so now that she has shown a knack for crafting Disney fairy tales with heart and soul (see also: her efforts on Christopher Robin). It’s similarly encouraging to see Lee bringing in another female creative to collaborate on the sequel with her and thus honor the Mouse House’s commitment to being more inclusive behind the camera, with respect to gender. All in all, this news gives fans all the more reason to stay hopeful that Frozen 2 will be just as good as (or maybe even better than) its predecessor.

MORE: All the Live-Action Disney Remakes in Development

Source: THR

  • Frozen 2 Release Date: 2019-11-22