To commemorate “626 Day” — a global celebration of the mischievous yet beloved Stitch from Lilo & Stitch — Walt Disney Studios announced on Thursday that Lilo & Stitch 2 is now officially in development.
The sequel to the live-action reimagining of the 2002 animated classic was announced via a playful video featuring Stitch (a.k.a. Experiment 626) wreaking havoc across The Walt Disney Studios lot.
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The live-action Lilo & Stitch — which was directed by Dean Fleischer Camp and stars Maia Kealoha as Lilo and Sydney Elizebeth Agudong as Nani — not only exceeded industry expectations but also set a new benchmark as the highest-grossing 4-day Memorial Day weekend opening in U.S. history. The film also notched an exceptional response from audience, garnering an “A” CinemaScore.
Since its debut, the film has grossed roughly $923 million worldwide.
“The love that people have for Lilo & Stitch continues to grow, and the goal with this new retelling was for audiences to be able to enjoy these characters on the big screen again and hopefully have just as much fun watching it as we had making it,” Alan Bergman, co-chairman, Disney Entertainment, said last month.
David Greenbaum, President of Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios, added last month that “Stitch is an example of what Disney actually does best.”
“An extraordinary animated film from 2002 that becomes a series that then over time creates a real fanship, which leads to us looking at the idea of creating this wonderful film that we now are bringing out to the world,” he said.