What a show! The Walt Disney Company pulled out all the stops and not once did they let up! Fans everywhere are hyped with anticipation for all the new projects coming from the mouse house! 10 MCU shows, 10 Star Wars shows, 15 Disney/Pixar shows, and features all coming to Disney+! New Marvel Studios films! New Star Wars movies! The whole kitten caboodle! So just in case, you may have missed some things during the presentation here’s a list of everything that was presented during yesterday’s Disney investor’s meeting!
Walt Disney Animation Studios/Walt Disney Studios
Let’s start off with Disney’s animation news! Their 59th animated feature film Raya and the Last Dragon will be coming to theaters on March 5th. Along with that comes a “Premier Access” option on Disney+. We also get a look at some of their new characters which you can look at by clicking here! The movie will be Disney’s first animated film to feature a Southeast Asian lead in a Southeast Asian inspired world! The movie stars Kelly Marie Tran as the voice of Raya and Awkwafina as the voice of Disney’s newest dragon, Sisu.
Next, we get a little tease of Disney’s 60th, that’s right Disney’s 60th animated feature film Encanto! Can’t wait to hear more details on this!
This Fall, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ all-new film Encanto takes you to Colombia, where a magical family live in a magical home. Directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, co-directed and co-written by Charise Castro Smith, and music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. pic.twitter.com/bdxag3SzPv
— Disney Animation (@DisneyAnimation) December 11, 2020
This news is certainly going to excite a lot of Disney animation fans!
JUST ANNOUNCED: Disney Animation’s first-ever original animated series on #DisneyPlus: Baymax!, Zootopia+, and Tiana are coming in 2022, and Moana, the series, in 2023. pic.twitter.com/KTiAsjj4MB
— Disney Animation (@DisneyAnimation) December 11, 2020
Something about this just screams Wakanda but I cannot wait!
In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, Disney Animation and Pan-African entertainment company Kugali will team up to create an all-new, science fiction series coming to #DisneyPlus in 2022: Iwájú. Check out a first look at visual development art from the series. pic.twitter.com/9iuWFDr61T
— Disney Animation (@DisneyAnimation) December 11, 2020
Now onto the live-action department! For Disney+, we’ll be getting some long-awaited sequels that I’m sure Disney nerds everywhere are pretty happy about! First up is Hocus Pocus 2! The sequel to the cult Halloween movie will be putting a spell on the streaming service. The original witchy trio Bette Middler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy are set to return!
Next is the long-awaited sequel to Enchanted! Amy Adams is set to return as Princess Giselle and EGOT winner Alan Menken will be writing new songs for the Disney+ feature! No release date hasn’t been picked yet.
Now here’s a project that sounds crazy on paper but actually sounds like it could be entertaining! A CGI/live-action hybrid take on the classic Disney Afternoon series, Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers will make its way onto Disney+. John Mulaney and Andy Samberg are set to be the new voices for Chip N’ Dale. Seth Rogen will also in the cast but no clue on what kind of character he’ll play. The project will be directed by Akiva Schaffer.
Other live-action movies that will be going directly to Disney+ are a superpowered family comedy called Flora and Ulysses, three new original movies inspired by the real-life stories of Chris Paul, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Keanon Lowe, Robert Zemeckis’ live-action take on Pinocchio starring Tom Hanks, and David Lowery’s live-action adaptation of Peter Pan & Wendy.
For the big screen, Disney will release their live-action version of The Little Mermaid. The movie will be directed by Rob Marshall. This new adaptation will feature music from the animated original & new music by Alan Menken & Lin-Manuel Miranda. I’m curious what they will do with this.
Disney+ Original Series
With the second season of The Mandalorian about to wrap up, Disney will be releasing a bunch of new shows the whole family will enjoy! There is a batch of new projects coming like for instance Percy Jackson and the Olympians! No date has been given but it is awesome that author Rick Riordan will be involved!
Other shows that are in development are a series on Swiss Family Robinson, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, Turner & Hooch starring Josh Peck, Big Shot, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and a prequel series on the live-action Beauty and the Beast movie starring Luke Evans and Josh Gad.
Pixar Animation Studios
Disney/Pixar’s Soul will debut on Disney+ this Christmas Day. I am sad that this won’t have a theatrical run but I’m happy to have this to watch around the holiday season. Besides the Monsters. Inc. spin-off series Monsters At Work, Pixar will release three new shows! The first is an Up series focused on one of the best good boys in animation, Dug. The series will be called Dug Days and the show will follow Dug as he discovers the dangers of suburbia like puppies, fireworks, and… SQUIRRELS!! Dug Days will premiere on Disney+ in Fall 2021.
A spin-off show on Cars will follow Lightning McQueen and Mater on a road trip across the country. Featuring new characters, old friends, and imaginative destinations the series will be coming to Disney+ in Fall 2022.
Finally, for Pixar’s third show they’ll release an original series called Win or Lose. The show follows a middle school softball team in the week leading up to their championship game, each episode is told from the perspective of a different character.
Now here’s what their next three original movies will be! First up is the 23rd animated film Luca. The movie is a celebration of the friendship between a boy named Luca and his best friend Alberto during their unforgettable summer. It’s slated to be released in June 2021.
Next, is their 24th film called Turning Red. Directed by the Academy Award winner of Bao, Domee Shi, the movie follows a girl named Mei who experiences the awkwardness of being a teenager, with an added twist: when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda. The movie will be released on March 11, 2022.
Lastly, is Pixar’s 25th movie on one of their most iconic characters, Buzz Lightyear! Well, not exactly the Buzz Lightyear you know and love. The movie is set to have a definitive origin story of the hero that inspired the toy! Voicing the title character will be Captain America himself, Chris Evans! Lightyear will blast its way into theaters on June 17, 2022!
I don’t even have the words. https://t.co/GHC8X6Yp7n
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) December 11, 2020
Lucasfilm/Star Wars
Let’s start off with the non-Star Wars news. Tomi Adeyemi’s New York Times bestselling novel Children of Blood & Bone is being adapted into live-action. The story will center around a young African girl’s heart-racing quest to restore magic to her forsaken people, the Maji. Lucasfilm will partner with 20th Century Studios on this coming-of-age adventure.
A sequel Disney+ series on Willow will be set decades after Ron Howard’s 1988 movie, continuing the spirit of adventure, heroics, and humor of the original film. Warwick Davis will return in the role of the great sorcerer, Willow Ufgood, with Jon Chu directing the pilot. Willow begins shooting next March in Wales and will debut on Disney+ in 2022.
Star Wars fans are eating well with all this new content coming! First up is the series we exclusively revealed a few months ago Star Wars: Ahsoka starring Rosario Dawson! Another series that’s in the works is Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic. Both of these projects will be helmed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. As you can look below here’s what else will be appearing in the coming years!
The Obi-Wan series will see the return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader! On the movie side, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins will be working on a new film project called Star Wars: Rogue Squadron! Taika Waititi is also working on his upcoming Star Wars movie. The third season of The Mandalorian will begin on Christmas in 2021.
Marvel Studios
Lot’s of great things are happening over for Phase 4 and beyond! MCU Spider-Man director Jon Watts will helm the Fantastic 4 and I honestly can’t wait to hear more news on that especially the cast! For the third Ant-Man outing, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu and Freaky actress Kathryn Newton joins the cast as Cassie Lang. She’ll be replacing Emma Fuhrmann. Christian Bale will be playing Gorr the God Butcher in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Both Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris join Brie Larson in the second Captain Marvel movie. The role of Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther won’t be recast as Ryan Coogler will explore the characters introduced in the first movie and more of Wakanda. Xochitl Gomez has officially been announced to play America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Feige has mentioned saying that we should hear some Blade announcements in the near future. Finally, the cast of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been revealed!
Now let us get to the Disney+ side! While most of these projects will be for Phase 4, Feige has laid out the groundwork for a few sweet projects in Phase 5! First off is an Ironheart series with Dominique Thorne as the genius inventor Riri Williams. The Nick Fury based series will officially be a Secret Invasion show. War Machine will get his chance to shine in Armor Wars. James Gunn will direct and produce a Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special before doing Vol.3. Abomination and Hulk will make appearances in She-Hulk and some other MCU faces as well.
We also get new trailers for WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and What If…?! To wrap things up, Disney and Marvel Studios released a sizzle reel for the upcoming Disney+ show Ms. Marvel!
Ms. Marvel, a newer character to Marvel comics has grabbed the world's imagination and we are excited to announce Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan.
Ms. Marvel, an Original Series from Marvel Studios, is coming late 2021 to #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/ArHe8vMCXd
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020
Whew, that’s a lot to take in! I probably missed some things on here but man oh man Disney is stacked for these next few years! Tell us what project are you looking forward to the most?!
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Source: Disney D23
