‘Lilo & Stitch 2’ Brings Back Co-Creator Chris Sanders to Write Script (Exclusive)
Hold on to your coconuts because one of Stitch’s parents is coming home.
Chris Sanders, the Wild Robot filmmaker who co-created, co-wrote and co-directed the 2002 animated Lilo & Stitch, is in final negotiations to return to the fold and pen 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 and not direct at this stage. Sanders is also focused on developing the sequel to Robot for DreamWorks Animation.
Last week, the live-action 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 Gen Zers who grew up on the original title.
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Now in theaters over 60 days domestically, Stitch opened May 23 to a record-breaking $183 million over the four-day holiday, helping to fuel the biggest Memorial Day weekend in history (alongside Tom Cruise-starrer Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, from Paramount.)
And Stitch is one of only two films this year to surpass $400 million at the domestic box office, behind Warner Bros.’s The Minecraft Movie.
Dean Fleischer Camp directed the live-action movie, written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Chris Van Waes.
Jonathan Eirichwill return to produce.
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. The new sequel will be a brand-new story.
Sanders co-wrote and co-directed the original animated movie with Dean DeBlois. It 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.
