Lilo & Stitch 2 comes home to Disney as co-creator Chris Sanders returns to direct the live-action sequel

Disney is doing the one thing that actually makes sense for a Lilo & Stitch sequel: handing the keys back to Chris Sanders. If you want Stitch to feel like Stitch, you go to the guy who created him. Simple.

Chris Sanders is back in the driver's seat

The Hollywood Reporter says Chris Sanders will direct Disney's next live-action Lilo & Stitch movie after already working on the script. If his name rings a bell, it should: he co-created, co-wrote, and co-directed the 2002 animated original. He also voices Stitch — and has kept doing it across animated and live-action projects — so the sequel is literally being steered by the character's creator and voice. That is not nothing.

What we know right now

• Chris Sanders will direct Disney's live-action Lilo & Stitch 2 and has already been on the sequel as a screenwriter (per THR).
• He is the longtime voice of Stitch and is expected to continue that role here.
• Production is expected to kick off later this year.
• Jonathan Eirich is returning as producer.
• The sequel is described as an original story, not a redo of any previous follow-ups.

Why this actually matters

Stitch has had ridiculous staying power for a reason. The character is chaos, comedy, and heart bundled into blue fur, and that combo turned Lilo & Stitch into one of Disney's rare modern franchises that works across generations. Bringing Sanders back ties this sequel directly to the creative DNA of the 2002 film — the tone, the humor, the oddly tender messiness — instead of trying to reverse-engineer it.

Receipts: Sanders has done this before (a lot)

Before Stitch, Sanders cut his teeth on Disney heavy-hitters like The Lion King and Mulan. After Stitch, he teamed up with Dean DeBlois on How to Train Your Dragon and went on to direct The Croods and The Wild Robot. In short: he knows how to build character-first crowd-pleasers, not just brand extensions.

The timing tracks with Disney's recent win

This move comes right after the live-action Lilo & Stitch remake turned into a monster hit. Earlier coverage pegged it clearing the $600 million mark on its way up the charts, and it ultimately crossed $1 billion worldwide — one of Disney's biggest recent performers. No surprise the studio is speeding up a sequel, but the pleasant surprise is they are handing it to the person most responsible for why people care about Stitch in the first place.

Bottom line

Plenty of sequels chase nostalgia and miss the point. This one is bringing back the person who defined the point. If any follow-up has a shot at recapturing that scrappy, sweet, slightly feral magic, it is this one.