Frozen was such a massive hit for Disney that even though the studio wasn’t in the habit of making theatrical sequels, the announcement that we would get a Frozen II was far from shocking. Then that movie went on to become an even bigger box office hit than Frozen, so the news that Frozen would become Disney animation’s first theatrical trilogy wasn’t that big a shock. But it turns out the story of Anna and Elsa has somewhere to go before we get to Frozen 3 as it was just announced that Anna and Elsa are getting their own podcast that will apparently be a canonical part of the story.
A new podcast is being developed by Disney Publishing in conjunction with ABC Audio and Walt Disney Animation Studios. According to GMA, the first season is called Forces of Nature and will consist of 12 episodes and see Anna and Elsa discover copper machines in the Enchanted Forest which are disrupting peace in the kingdom.
The story is set following the events of Frozen 2, which means Elsa will be living in the Enchanted Forest and Anna is the Queen of Arendelle. Since this is an official project from WDAS, it may be canonical to the feature film franchise, which means events of the podcast could be relevant, though not necessarily vital, to the forthcoming Frozen 3.
In addition to featuring Elsa, Anna, and Olaf, there's no specific mention of Kristoff or Sven appearing, the podcast will introduce several new characters. Queen Disa, Lord Wolfgang, and Astrid and Magnus who are magpies, are mentioned by name, but who they are or how they fit in is not clear.
It should also be noted that Forces of Nature is specifically being called Season One, which strongly indicates that there will be more seasons. Since Frozen 3 is probably still several years away, this will be good news as it will likely keep fans happy with more Frozen while we wait for the next movie.
It was during a quarterly earnings call earlier this year that Bob Iger officially announced the development of Frozen 3, Zootopia 2, and Toy Story 5. Beyond the film’s existence, there’s little we know about it, other than Jennifer Lee, co-director of the first two Frozen films, will not be helming the new one. As the CCO of Walt Disney Animation, one assumes Lee doesn’t have the time to direct a feature, a process that usually takes two to three years.
Forces of Nature sounds like it could be a lot of fun for families to gather around a speaker and enjoy together. And it will surely be something Frozen fans will want to check out. The podcast series is set to arrive in October and will be available to stream on all podcast platforms.
