Jennifer Lee has resigned as chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios after six years in the role.

The move is part of Lee’s plan to make a full-time shift back to filmmaking—specifically focusing on the Frozen franchise she’s best known for. Lee is pulling double-duty as both writer and director on Frozen 3 (2027) and is also attached as an EP to the fourth installment, which she’s co-writing with Marc Smith. 

Disney has appointed Zootopia co-director Jared Bush to replace Lee as CCO, and he’ll report directly to Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman.

Bush made a splash in 2016 with screenplay credits on two Disney Animation blockbusters—Moana and Zootopia. And he went on to win a Best Animated Feature Oscar for writing and directing Disney’s pandemic-era picture Encanto (2021).

This executive shakeup comes on the heels of a challenging period for Walt Disney Animation Studios, which generated poor ticket sales with its two recent original movies. Sci-fi pic Strange World (2022) grossed US$73.6 million against a budget between US$135 million and US$180 million; and last year’s Wish cost somewhere in the range of US$175 million to US$200 million to make and earned US$255 million.

The division’s strategy going forward may borrow a page from Disney-owned Pixar, which has dominated this year’s box office with its billion-dollar grosser Inside Out 2 and is prepping sequels Toy Story 5 and Incredibles 3. CEO Bob Iger has endorsed this swing back into extending franchises, particularly in the animation genre.  

As proof, Bush’s slate is leaning heavily into established IPs at the moment. He’s writing and directing the much-anticipated Zootopia 2, due out next year, and he also has screenplay credits on Moana 2 (November 2024) and a live-action Moana adaptation that’s slated for 2026.