Ohana means bargaining power in negotiations… and family. Chris Sanders, the co-creator, co-writer, and co-director of Disney’s original Lilo & Stitch, is officially returning to the franchise to pen the screenplay for the upcoming sequel to the billion-dollar live-action hit Stitch. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sanders is in final negotiations with Disney to write the sequel, though he will not direct at this stage. Sanders, who also famously voiced Stitch in both the 2002 animated classic and its recent live-action counterpart, will bring his creative voice back to the series over two decades after the character first crash-landed in Hawaii and into pop culture history.
The new sequel will feature a brand-new story rather than a rehash of the early 2000s direct-to-video follow-ups or the Disney Channel series. Although hopefully we still get to see Angel and Leroy in live-action. We’re sure Disney won’t say no to those merchandising opportunities. As for the timing? Well, it comes just days after Stitch became the first film of 2025 to cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office, surpassing all industry expectations and setting records in the process. The film opened on May 23 with a staggering $183 million four-day Memorial Day debut, a launch that helped fuel the biggest Memorial Day weekend in Hollywood history.
Over 60 days into its theatrical run, Stitch remains one of the year’s box office juggernauts, having earned more than $400 million domestically, behind only The Minecraft Movie from Warner Bros. The film’s intergenerational appeal, driven by nostalgic Gen Z audiences and new fans alike, has cemented the alien “puppy” as one of Disney’s most enduring breakout stars. The 2025 live-action adaptation was directed by Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) and written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Chris Van Waes. Producer Jonathan Eirich is also set to return for the sequel.
What Will the ‘Lilo and Stitch’ Sequel Be About?
While plot details for the follow-up are still under wraps, the original film’s beloved story — about a lonely Hawaiian girl, Lilo, and her unlikely friendship with a genetically-engineered alien named Stitch — remains at the core of the franchise’s charm, as well as Stitch’s proclivity for destroying everything in his wake, and that emotional DNA will likely carry over into the sequel, especially with Sanders back at the writing helm. For those skeptics who didn’t enjoy the shot-for-shot remake of the original, this should bring some hope.
Lilo & Stitch is in theaters now.
via Collider