Frozen 3 Footage Teases New Villain, and It Looks Like Olaf is Getting a Love Interest
Disney has shown off a first look at Frozen 3 at its fan event, D23.
The section on the company's hugely-anticipated Frozen threequel capped off the evening's festivities, beginning with a rather ominous tune sung by Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell. Next up was a romantic number for Olaf the snowman sung by Josh Gad, before a clip from what looked to be early in the new film that revealed its villain.
Frozen 3 will pick up the action as Anna and Kristoff finally get married, an event which brings the whole gang, including Elsa, Olaf and Sven the reindeer, to get back together. But on the evening of the ceremony, a mysterious curtain of Northern Lights descends upon Arendelle's fjord, heralding the arrival of a new threat.
Lyrics sung by Menzel and Bell describe this moment: "she sends an invitation from the Northern Lights so shining" which is later referred to as a "cursed frozen heart."
"Doesn't it feel like the world of Frozen is a bit different?" Bell said afterwards, before Menzel agreed that their characters were "going on their biggest journey yet."
Of course, the series' humor will not be lost despite a seemingly darker turn. Taking to the stage, Gad sang a funky romantic tune suggesting Olaf will fall in love — with a character named Samantha, a perfect callback to Frozen 2.
After all of that wrapped up, it was time for that Frozen 3 footage, which began with a jagged snowflake fluttering down across Arendelle, until it's stopped by Elsa — frozen into an ice block. Elsa is curious, and as the rest of the gang turn up ("they were doing mouth to mouth stuff!" shouts Olaf of the newly-weds), a glittering frozen walkway appears, stretching into the Northern Lights.
There's some lighter stuff here, as Anna chides Kristoff for not carrying her wedding dress train, and Olaf celebrates catching the bouquet, but quickly Elsa meets a mysterious and threatening figure.
"Look what the Northern Lights dragged in," the figure exclaims, her face left unseen. Dressed in a dark cloak and surrounded by more jagged snowflakes, the character certainly has a malevolent presence. "The famous sisters of Arendelle! We finally meet," the voice says... and that's the end of the trailer.
Frozen 3 is set to launch in theaters on November 24, 2027, eight years on from 2019's Frozen 2, with all of the franchise's core cast returning. Earlier this year, Kristen Bell played down a report that claimed she was set to pocket $60 million for voicing Anna in Frozen 3 and the already-confirmed Frozen 4 — while acknowledging she was still paid "very well" overall for the blockbuster Disney franchise.
From Star Wars to Marvel, Tangled to Kingdom Hearts, catch up on everything announced at D23 2026 right here.
Image credit: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social