Toy Story 5 is confirmed to be in development at Pixar, and while the sequel might not be necessary, it can finally answer what happened to the franchise's darkest character. Toy Story 4 gave Woody and Buzz Lightyear perfect endings, but Disney CEO Bob Iger announced at an investor's meeting that a fourth sequel was in the works, which led to a polarizing response. However, the film still has much potential, and after Toy Story 3 also had a perfect ending, the fourth movie already proved Toy Story has the potential to continue with the right story.
Given the studio's record, there is little doubt that Pixar will deliver another powerful and emotional movie. However, there is one unique concept that a Pixar Toy Story 5 movie could explore, which would also resolve a decades-old mystery - what happened to Andy's next-door neighbor, Sid. Sid is the only human character in the Toy Story franchise that has ever seen the toys come to life, which is a traumatic event that would scar even the toughest of adults. Aside from a brief Toy Story 3 cameo, the series never fully revealed his fate.
Toy Story Never Fully Explained What Happened To Sid
Though Sid was the original Toy Story's villain, he was just a child who had no idea that toys were living beings when he dissected them, and Woody's plan to terrify Sid by coming to life worked. Sid had a cameo in Toy Story 3, his skull t-shirt under a garbage man's vest giving it away, but that remains the only sighting or mention of Sid since Toy Story. Sid would surely not have kept the fact that toys come alive to himself. Maybe he tried to convince people, only to be dismissed. Toy Story 5 can finally complete Sid's story by finding out exactly how he dealt with Woody's "play nice" trick.
Sid's Trauma Can Justify Toy Story 5
Given the perfect ending of Toy Story 3, followed by the perfect ending of Toy Story 4, many would suggest Pixar has not justified Toy Story 5. Having Sid's trauma as a major narrative would be the perfect reason for making the sequel. As Pixar has often told dark stories in its animated movies, tackling themes such as global warming and death, it would not be surprising if the studio zeroed in on Sid's ordeal. That would mean exploring new territory for Pixar, as studying the psyche of a 30-something who has carried the burden of knowing toys are sentient all his adult life would be the studio's darkest premise yet.
This narrative would perfectly tie the franchise together by focusing on the biggest unresolved plot of the series, just as Toy Story 4 flawlessly explained why Bo Peep suddenly went missing. However, exploring Sid's life comes dangerously close to turning the toys into villains. If Sid has had to deal with trauma for decades, that essentially means Woody is responsible for ruining his life. At least that connects with the original Pixar plan for villain Woody. Most interestingly, Toy Story 5 could see Sid trying to convince the world he was not lying, which would give the series higher stakes than ever before.