Taylor Swift released a new song for Toy Story 5 on Friday — a single called "I Knew It, I Knew You" that arrives less than three weeks before the film opens in theaters on June 19.
Swift wrote and produced the track with Jack Antonoff after asking to see an early cut of the film; she has said the process felt both like a musical departure and a return, and that writing for Jessie was a fresh challenge that also felt instinctive. The music video and new film material highlight Jessie as a central figure.
The timing is immediate: the single drops now to amplify Toy Story 5's final marketing push. Swift’s involvement gives Pixar a major pop-star tie-in at a moment when the franchise is presenting its new chapter — the film follows Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie a few years after Toy Story 4 and builds its conflict around Lilypad, a smart device that threatens playtime.
People on the production side say the song was created in private. Studio producers said Swift asked to see an unfinished cut in February, wrote the song afterward and then offered it to the filmmakers. Only a very small group inside the project knew the track existed, and that team even prepared a decoy version of the movie for some press and company staff who weren’t cleared to hear it.
That secrecy produced a mismatch inside the studio: the broader crew that animated Toy Story 5 learned about the song only last week, even though the song had been kept under wraps since February. Studio representatives also emphasized that the film’s animation remained 100% human-made, distancing the project from any AI involvement.
Swift’s collaboration with Antonoff is both creative and strategic. The duo are credited as co-writers and producers, and the single — which centers on Jessie in the visuals — functions as both a standalone pop release and a promotional asset for the movie. An earlier Filmogaz preview tracked the song’s June 5 drop and the title; more on the release is available on Filmogaz here: I Knew It I Knew You Taylor Swift: New Song Drops June 5 for Toy Story 5 and in the film’s release announcement coverage Toy Story 5 Release Date: Taylor Swift Drops New Song 'I Knew It, I Knew You'.
The choice to center Jessie in the video and in the new material underscores how the studio plans to link Swift’s audience to the film’s emotional core. Marketing teams often use high-profile singles to widen a film’s reach; here, Swift’s single arrives as one of the last big promotional moves before the wide opening.
What remains unresolved is how the song and its music video will sit inside the film experience once audiences see the full picture on June 19: whether the track will play over a key scene, serve as end-credits material, or exist primarily as an external tie-in will be revealed when Toy Story 5 premieres. For now, the single gives the movie a headline-grabbing soundtrack moment and pushes the franchise into the summer release period with fresh pop momentum.
