Josh Cooley, the director of Toy Story 4, is taking on his biggest non-Pixar project yet. Cooley has been announced as the director of a new LEGO Movie, with Keanu Reeves starring and producing. The project marks Cooley’s first major feature outside of Pixar Animation Studios, where he spent years as a writer, story artist, and director before winning an Academy Award for Toy Story 4.
Variety broke the news, reporting that Reeves will also serve as a producer on the project. No studio or release date has been announced, but the pairing of a proven animation director with a global superstar attached to both star and produce suggests the project has significant backing behind it.
Cooley’s Pixar Roots
Cooley’s Disney-Pixar pedigree is extensive. He joined Pixar in the early 2000s and contributed story work to films including Up, Inside Out, and The Good Dinosaur before making his feature directorial debut with Toy Story 4 in 2019. The film earned more than $1 billion at the global box office and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, cementing Cooley as one of animation’s most accomplished directors.
He also directed the short film Riley’s First Date?, a companion piece to Inside Out, and has been deeply involved in the creative culture at Pixar that has defined computer animation for three decades. His departure to direct outside Pixar is notable, though not unprecedented, as several former Pixar talents have gone on to direct major projects at other studios.
Keanu Reeves and Animation
Reeves is no stranger to animation. He voiced Duke Caboom, the Canadian daredevil toy, in Toy Story 4 itself, which makes his pairing with Cooley on a new animated project feel like a natural continuation of a creative relationship that clearly clicked. He also voiced Shadow in the recent animated Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff series.
The original LEGO Movie franchise, which launched in 2014 with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing, became a surprise critical and commercial hit, spawning sequels and spinoffs including The LEGO Batman Movie and The LEGO Ninjago Movie. A new entry with Cooley directing and Reeves starring represents a fresh creative direction for the franchise. For more animation news, check out our coverage of Disney Animation’s upcoming film Hexed.
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