Chris Sanders, who co-created, co-wrote and co-directed the 2002 animated Lilo & Stitch, is in final negotiations to return to write the sequel to Disney’s live-action megahit. The deal calls for Sanders, who voiced the character in both versions of the title, to only write the screenplay, but not direct at this stage. Sanders is also focused on developing the sequel to Wild Robot for DreamWorks Animation.
The live-action Lilo & Stitch became the first Hollywood movie of 2025 to cross the billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office. The Hollywood Reporter reported the movie has exceeded expectations since opening over Memorial Day, thanks to families and those who grew up on the original title. The original animated Lilo & Stitch grossed $274.7M at the global box office.
The Lilo & Stitch franchise is one of the biggest for Disney. Last year Lilo & Stitch consumer products made an estimated $2.5 billion-plus, according to sources, and was one of 11 evergreen Disney franchises that surpassed $1 billion-plus in retail sales in 2024.
Lilo & Stitch is also huge on Disney+. The entire Lilo & Stitch catalog has grown significantly each year based on hours streamed. The franchise has driven 546 million hours on Disney+ around the globe, with the original movie clocking north of 280M hours viewed.
Now in theaters over 60 days domestically, Lilo & Stitch opened May 23 to a record-breaking $183 million over the four-day holiday, which helped to fuel the biggest Memorial Day weekend in history (alongside Tom Cruise starrer Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, from Paramount.)
Lilo & Stitch is one of only two films this year to surpass $400 million at the domestic box office, behind Warner Bros.’ The Minecraft Movie.
Dean Fleischer Camp directed the live-action movie, written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes. Jonathan Eirich will return to produce.
While the sequel will focus on a brand new story, it is unclear where the producers and the studio will take the story, which centers on a lonely girl who befriends a blue puppy that turns out to be an escaped alien engineered to be a weapon of mass destruction. The original movie was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, Stitch! The Movie and Stitch Has a Glitch, as well as Lilo & Stitch: The Series.
Sanders co-wrote and co-directed the original animated movie with Dean DeBlois, which was a directorial debut for both. The duo later went on to work together on the first How to Train Your Dragon. Sanders then co-wrote and co-directed The Croods with Kirk DeMicco. He made his live-action debut with the 2020 adaptation of The Call of the Wild starring Harrison Ford.
Disney recently announced that Lilo & Stitch will be getting its digital release on July 22nd. It will be arriving on disc formats on August 26th.
What do you think about Chris Sanders writing the sequel to the live-action Lilo & Stitch? Have you seen the live-action movie? Let us know in the comments.
