10 Movies That Accidentally Set Up Sequels
8. Toy Story 3
As franchise endings go, they don't get much more perfect than Toy Story 3, which provided fans with tear-stained closure to the adventures of Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), and company, as they moved on from their long-time owner Andy (John Morris) and were given to his young neighbour Bonnie (Emily Hahn).
And for almost five years, it truly seemed like Disney and Pixar had firmly closed the book shut on the toys' cinematic stories, yet in 2014, they confirmed that Toy Story 4 was in the works.
Franchise godfather John Lasseter revealed that though he originally intended to leave the series at three movies, the ending ultimately left him with an idea for a fourth film that he "could not stop thinking about."
Toy Story 4 of course ended up revolving around Woody coming to realise that his place wasn't with Bonnie, but as a nomadic "Lost Toy" alongside Bo Peep (Annie Potts), helping other toys find their owners.
Toy Story 3 also set up the fourth film in another, quasi-unintentional way, by leaving Bo Peep out entirely.
Many fans decried her absence, and during the press tour for Toy Story 4, Annie Potts revealed that Lasseter told her that Bo Peep's exclusion was in fact a calculated move.
Though Toy Story 3 was genuinely meant to be the end of the series, Lasseter also wanted to ensure that the story and characters would be in good shape for a potential fourth film someday, and so refused to rush through Bo Peep's story in the third film.
Instead, he saved it in case Toy Story 4 ever happened - as it eventually did.