Sixth time’s the charm for The Herd.
Disney and 20th Century Animation has unveiled that Ice Age 6 is now in production. The announcement was made during Disney’s D23 Brazil with a video featuring several of the original voice cast members Ray Romano, Queen Latifah and John Leguizamo. Denis Leary and Simon Pegg were also reported to return.
The hit animated series had been Blue Sky Studios’ flagship franchise, having accumulated $3.2 billion worldwide and skyrocketing the studio to success. The last Ice Age movie, Collision Course from 2016, gained a global gross of $408.5 million. Critical reception for the movies has been mixed, with Collision Course gaining an 18% Rotten Tomatoes score.
After Disney’s acquisition of Fox, which included Blue Sky, the studio made it a priority to expand the franchise. As a result, Disney released the spin-off The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, which was first conceived as a Disney+ series but reworked as a feature-length streaming movie, to subpar results. Pegg was the only original voice actor to return in the movie, reprising his role as the standout character Buck the Weasel.
While 20th Century Animation will helm the project, it remains unknown which studio vendor will handle the animation or if Bardel Animation, the studio who handled Ice Age Adventures after Blue Sky’s closure, will be involved in the production.
Regardless, the sixth Ice Age will be the first theatrical entry of the series to be officially helmed by Disney.