With the sixth movie in the franchise, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, arriving on Disney+ January 28th, the questions surrounding a possible Ice Age 7 have already begun to crop up. The family-friendly franchise recently saw a shift in ownership when Disney bought the movie franchise after taking over 20th Century Fox and shut down the franchise’s original animation studio, Blue Sky, which is a sign that Ice Age may find itself a more permanent home on the Disney+ platform. However, it’s a decision that entirely comes down to what Disney’s long-term intentions are for the franchise.
The newest entry in the franchise, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, sees the possum twins Crash and Eddie return to the Lost World, first introduced in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, where they’re rescued by Buck Wild and the three set off on their own adventure in the underbelly of the prehistoric world. Although the franchise as a whole has been slowly shifting focus from its original main characters over the course of the past few movies, the latest movie is the first that doesn’t primarily feature Manny, Sid, or Diego.
It raises some extremely interesting questions as to what the future of the Ice Age franchise is, especially now that Disney’s steering the helm of the ship. The primary question is whether there are more movies that will be released following the January 2022 Disney movie The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild or whether the franchise is looking to expand into other pavilions, especially since the latest movie was originally announced as a television series but later redeveloped. Here's everything we know about a potential Ice Age 7 movie.
Will Ice Age 7 Happen?
Although there has been no confirmation, Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild producer, Lori Forte, talked about a possible Ice Age 7, calling the discussion “a little premature” while asserting that if audiences respond well to the upcoming entry, there are plenty of ideas and adventures that are ready. However, a document on the Disney+ PR page promoting The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild revealed that co-screenwriter Jim Hecht is already working on the next installment of the Ice Age franchise at 20th Century Animation, which could be a TV series or Ice Age 7. The popularity of the franchise is an opportunity that Disney is unlikely to miss out on so it can be expected that more official news on a possible Ice Age 7 sequel will be announced within the next few months.
Ice Age 7's Story: What Will The Sequel Be About?
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild is a good indication of where the series might go and also all the different directions and characters that it may choose to go with for Ice Age 7's story. The Ice Age franchise has expanded far beyond the lonesome trio that it started out with in the first movie. The likeliest possibility is that Ice Age 7 will continue the adventures of Crash, Eddie, and Buck Wild told in Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild. That said, it could start fresh with a new adventure featuring other supporting characters from the previous movies. The peculiar decision to omit humans from the franchise could also be a plot point that is revisited in the future, perhaps even in Ice Age 7's story, should it happen.
Ice Age 7 Cast: Will The Franchise's Main Characters Return?
Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild features Simon Pegg, who reprises his voice role as the titular Buck Wild. However, the character himself has only appeared as either a minor or supporting character in three of the previous Ice Age movies. It also featured Vincent Tong and Aaron Harris as Crash and Eddie alongside Dominique Jennings as Ellie, all of whom were first introduced in Ice Age: The Meltdown. It's fairly certain most, if not all, of those characters will return for Ice Age 7 considering it will likely pick up from the ending of Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild. If that's the case, it's too early to say which, if any, of the beloved main characters may return in Ice Age 7.
Ice Age 7 Release Date Prediction: When Could It Happen?
As of right now, with no confirmation of a sequel, it's hard to discern a possible Ice Age 7 release date. However, given the statement on the official Disney site, it’s apparent that the creative team has a lot of ideas prepared and might already be in the development process for a sequel. This, combined with the sheer popularity of the franchise, means that if Ice Age 7 is to happen, it will probably be announced by Disney sometime in the next few months. Animated movies tend to take a little longer to make than live-action and Ice Age movies have usually had three to four years between releases. If everything works out in the development process, Ice Age 7 could be released in early 2025 or 2026 at the latest.