Encanto' and 'Zootopia' director Jared Bush has been named chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation as Jennifer Lee steps back and returns to filmmaking for 'Frozen 3' and 'Frozen 4.'

As Disney readies the sequels to its uber-grossing $1.75 billion Frozen franchise, Walt Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee is segueing from her position to direct and write Frozen 3 and pen Frozen 4 with Marc Smith.

Jennifer Lee has officially announced that she is stepping down from her role as chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios to return to filmmaking and will be directing both Frozen 3 and its follow-up,

Lee is writing and directing “Frozen 3” and writing “Frozen 4” with Marc Smith — the sequels to Disney Animation’s 2013 “Snow Queen”-inspired cultural hit “Frozen,” for which she served as writer/director. The movie made $1.3 billion worldwide and earned two Oscars, for best animated feature and for earworm song “Let It Go.”

Lee is stepping down as Disney's animation chief and will return exclusively to filmmaking.

Director-writer Jared Bush is replacing Jennifer Lee as chief creative officer of the Walt Disney Animation Studios as Lee returns to filmmaking full time at the company and stewards the Frozen franchise, Disney announced Thursday. He’ll report to Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman, effective immediately.

Frozen II was the last big hit that Disney Animation had. The pandemic would follow shortly after its release. Raya and the Last Dragon was released while many theaters were still closed. Encanto, Strange World, and Wish were all disappointments at the box office, though Encanto would find new life on Disney+.