Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch has been one of 2025’s biggest success stories, with the celebrated remake now earning 1 billion at the box office. That said, Disney actually greenlit the sequel long before that, which truly makes all the sense in the world. Not much is known in terms of details on the sequel, as the first film isn’t even out of theaters yet, but longtime fans just got some truly amazing news that bodes incredibly well for the sequel once it does eventually debut.
THR is reporting that Chris Sanders, who voices Stitch in both the live-action and animated versions of the film, is in final negotiations with Disney to write the Lilo & Stitch live-action sequel. For longtime fans of the Stitch franchise, that’s wonderful news, as Sanders also co-created, co-wrote, and co-directed the original Lilo & Stitch animated film for Disney in 2002, so having him involved in the creation process for a sequel on top of bringing the voice of Stitch to life is only going to make the film that much better.
In addition to his work on Stitch, Sanders also helped create the DreamWorks Animation gem The Wild Robot, and is actually developing a sequel at the moment. Sanders is only slated to write the screenplay for the sequel as opposed to also directing. Dean Fleischer Camp directed the newest live-action remake, and one would assume he is in the mix for the sequel as well, but that hasn’t been confirmed. What has been confirmed is that Jonathan Eirich will be producing the sequel. The first live-action film was written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Chris Van Waes.
Lilo & Stitch is a welcome win for the live-action side of Disney, which has been a rollercoaster ride in recent years. The previous remake Snow White couldn’t take off at the box office, bringing in around $205 million worldwide. 2024’s Mufasa: The Lion King got off to a slower start but had real legs, paving the way for an impressive $722 million worldwide total. Another slow starter was 2023’s The Little Mermaid, which ended up earning $569 million worldwide when it finally ended its theatrical run.
As for the Lilo & Stitch sequel, there’s plenty of material to pull ideas from thanks to the animated series and two direct-to-video films. There’s also more than a few fan favorite characters to introduce into the mix, including Angel and Leroy, which should make the sequel that much more chaotic (but in the best way.)
Are you excited for Lilo & Stitch 2? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things Disney and movies with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
