Pixar Animation's most successful franchise will be returning to the big screen as a fourth instalment of 'Toy Story' has been set for a release date of June 16, 2017, by Walt Disney Co., which owns Pixar.

Toy Story
The lovable 'Toy Story' gang are set for a return to the big screen

The exciting announcement, which occurred on Thursday (Nov 6th) during an earnings call, also named John Lasseter as the director of 'Toy Story 4.' Along with Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter and Lee Unkrich, who worked on all three previous films, came up with the new plot.

The American animator told the Los Angeles Times that the fourth flick would be a "love story" that will pick up where 'Toy Story 3' ended, when Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the franchise's lovable characters were handed down to a young girl named Bonnie.

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"We love these characters so much; they are like family to us," said Lasseter in a statement. "We don't want to do anything with them unless it lives up to or surpasses what's gone before. Toy Story 3 ended Woody and Buzz's story with Andy so perfectly that for a long time, we never even talked about doing another Toy Story movie. But when Andrew, Pete, Lee and I came up with this new idea, I just could not stop thinking about it. It was so exciting to me, I knew we had to make this movie-and I wanted to direct it myself."

John Lassester
Lasseter will direct 'Toy Story 4'

Lasseter took the helm of the original 'Toy Story' and returned to direct the second. He previously directed 'A Bug's Life' and is currently working as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios.

'Toy Story 4' will have awfully high expectations based on the success of the trilogy which earned an enormous $1.94 billion worldwide. The third instalment, released in June 2013, achieved a franchise high of $1.1 billion worldwide, and won two Academy Awards.