Ice Age Is Officially One Step Closer to Returning to Theaters [Exclusive]

Although the closure of Blue Sky Studios in 2021 seemed to spell the end of Ice Age, the series is now closer than ever to proving it's not extinct. The sixth mainline installment, Ice Age: Boiling Point, is less than half a year away from returning to theaters on February 5, marking the first time Manny, Sid, Diego, and the gang have appeared on the big screen in over ten years. 20th Century Studios has all the main stars from the over $3 billion franchise back in the fold too, including Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, and Simon Pegg. They're not the only familiar faces attached to the explosive comeback, though.

John C. Donkin, who helmed the Disney+-exclusive spin-off The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, will be back to continue navigating the series through its post-Blue Sky era. Collider can now exclusively confirm that he's also bringing along his composer for the film, one with a deeper connection to the prehistoric animated hits — Batu Sener. While Buck Wild was his first time as the sole creative behind the music of Ice Age, and he also previously worked on the miniseries Ice Age: Scrat Tales, Sener's a protégé of John Powell, who previously composed the scores of Ice Age: The Meltdown through Continental Drift. His own star has been rising quickly, as he's best known for his lead credit on the musical 2024 Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, as well as the feature based on Harold and the Purple Crayon, and other credits on both Wicked movies, the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and more.

In addition to officially revealing Sener as the composer of Boiling Point, we can further confirm that recording is now underway at the Fox scoring stage. It brings the animated family adventure one step closer to completion after what's been a winding journey through the snow. While another mainline Ice Age wasn't necessarily a surprise announcement, given how much the previous five films made, this has been by far the largest gap between entries thanks to Blue Sky's closure. Buck Wild, however, was instrumental in showing there was still interest in seeing what Manny's mammoth family and friends were up to under the Disney umbrella.

What Is the Story of 'Ice Age: Boiling Point'?

Exact story details about Boiling Point have yet to be revealed, but it'll take place sometime after the events of 2016's Ice Age: Collision Course. That film ended with the herd and the Geotopians luring an asteroid away from hitting Earth and Manny and Ellie's daughter Peaches getting married. Their next adventure is said to be a wild one, with dinosaurs, lava, and exploration to the furthest undiscovered corners of the Lost World. Not only will the usual herd members be around, but so will Scrat in his never-ending search for his acorn, as seen in the first official teaser, as well as a little baby Scrat and a monstrous Jurassic Scrat. More information, including a proper trailer and new cast members joining the gang, is likely to be announced as the film draws nearer.

Ice Age: Boiling Point thaws out in theaters on February 5. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the animated franchise's return.