Disney is keeping it in the family by bringing Sanders back as director, ensuring full creative continuity for a property that generated over $1 billion. This is framed as the studio honoring the original vision and trusting its co-creator with the sequel's direction.
Insiders note Sanders was initially only attached as screenwriter on the 2025 hit, directed by Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On). His elevation to director suggests either Disney wanted him more hands-on after seeing those box office numbers, or he pushed for it once the film proved the franchise's potential.
The 2025 live-action Lilo & Stitch grossed over $1 billion worldwide, with $423.7 million domestically. Production on the sequel is scheduled to begin later this year (2026). Sanders previously directed The Wild Robot (2024), which won nine Annie Awards and earned three Oscar nominations.
Sanders going from screenwriter to director signals Disney wants its creator fully invested in steering this franchise — and after a billion-dollar debut, they're clearly not leaving Stitch's legacy to chance.
Chris Sanders is done writing the sequel. He's ready to call the shots. The original co-creator of Lilo & Stitch, who voiced the mischievous alien Stitch across both animated and live-action versions, has been upgraded from screenwriter to full director on Disney's upcoming sequel, The Hollywood Reporter confirms.
The move comes after Sanders served as screenwriter on the 2025 live-action remake that shocked everyone by racking up over $1 billion worldwide — a number nobody expected when the project was first announced. The timing is worth examining. When the live-action Lilo & Stitch dropped earlier this year, Dean Fleischer Camp sat in the director's chair while Sanders worked behind the scenes on script duties alongside Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes.
Now? Sanders is getting the keys to the kingdom. Whether this was Disney's plan all along or a course correction after seeing those record-breaking box office figures remains unclear, but one thing is certain: the studio wants its franchise architect front and center.
Sanders isn't exactly a stranger to high-stakes projects. The man co-wrote and co-directed the original 2002 animated classic alongside Dean DeBlois before they both moved on to launch the How to Train Your Dragon franchise together. Sanders later solo-directed DreamWorks' The Wild Robot in 2024, an adaptation of Chris Brown's book that snagged nine Annie Awards and three Oscar nominations — not exactly a small achievement.
His live-action debut came via 2020's The Call of the Wild, which starred Harrison Ford alongside plenty of CGI creatures, giving him what Disney presumably sees as adequate prep for wrangling Stitch in the sequel. Jonathan Eirich returns as producer through Rideback, with Ryan Halprin executive producing. Shooting is due to begin later this year — meaning Sanders has a compressed timeline to deliver a follow-up to one of 2025's surprise box office juggernauts.
The sequel will be an entirely new story rather than a retread, which should give Sanders room to flex his creative muscles beyond mere nostalgia-bait. The pressure, though? Enormous.
Families and Gen Z audiences who grew up on the original powered that 2025 release to $423.7 million domestically alone — a figure that exceeded most industry projections by a significant margin. Now Disney needs lightning to strike twice with a director who's spent more of his career in animation than live-action. Sanders has the pedigree, but this franchise's success hinges on whether he can translate his storytelling instincts from doodle pads to actual sets.
