If there’s one way to follow-up that Robert Downey Jr. announcement at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con last month – if you haven’t heard, the newly-minted Oscar winner is returning to the MCU as Victor Von Doom – it’s by announcing all the films and television series coming our way possible from the House of Mouse.
At this year’s D23 expo, an annual fan event taking place out of Anaheim, California, sequels, remakes and reboots (oh my!) were all the rage as Disney set forth their upcoming schedule, with Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel and the Star Wars universe all coming out to play.
At the AU Review we’ve got all your first looks at the announcements so the only thing you need to know is mark your calendars.
More Moana
The sequel to 2016’s Oscar-nominated Moana, Moana 2 is set only a few years after the original, with Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, and Alan Tudyk, all reprising their roles from the first film. Here, Moana must navigate the long-lost waters of the Oceania to search for a hidden island that could break a curse made up of a fury of storms that has fallen upon Oceania.
In addition to this sequel, which will arrive in theatres from November 28th this year, Disney have also started production on a live-action adaptation of the original, with Johnson once again reprising his role as the shapeshifting demi-god Maui.
Rock Monster!
Speaking of Johnson, the artist formerly known as The Rock is continuing his fruitful relationship with Disney, with the announcement that he’ll topline Monster Jam. Not much is known about the film plot-wise, but Johnson, who helped develop the film (which is inspired by the monster truck driving event of the same name), is currently filming now.
Snow White
A live-action remake we’ve been hearing about for some time now, we’re finally about to return to the story that started it all with Snow White. Directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man), with a script from Barbie scribe Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson (The Girl on the Train), this enchanting fairytale, which will arrive in theatres March 2025, stars Rachel Zegler as the titular Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.
Lilo’s gone live!
Another live-action adaptation coming our way is that of Lilo & Stitch. A teaser showcased the look of Stitch – and his expected excitable personality – along with the confirmation of an American summer release in 2025.
You get a sequel and you get a sequel!
Whether we want them or not, a heft of beloved titles are expanding their lore with the announcements that Toy Story, The Incredibles, Zootopia and Frozen are all getting (more) sequels.
Toy Story 5, the only title that managed an official teaser of sorts, was announced by director Andrew Stanton, stating “This time around, it’s toy meets tech. It’s going to be fun, and we can’t wait for you all to see it in the summer of 2026.”
With Fantastic Four making waves, it only makes sense that the family film franchise inspired by Marvel’s First Family goes for another round, so Brad Bird will return to direct The Incredibles 3, which was basically the only announcement this title earned as it goes into production.
Set for release in November 2025, Zootopia 2 will once again focus on bunny cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and fox con artist Nick (Jason Bateman). There isn’t a great deal known about what shenanigans the duo will get up to this time, but Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan has been announced as a new cast addition as a snake named Gary.
And one franchise that Disney can’t seem to say “Let it go” to is Frozen. Creator Jennifer Lee was on stage to not only announce Frozen III (set for release sometime in 2027), but that a fourth film is also planned, as is the release of a professionally shot recording of the Frozen broadway musical on Disney+, set for a release in 2025.
Avatar, Freaky Friday and Tron also announced official wording on their sequels too. Avatar 3 is now officially known as Avatar: Fire and Ash, which director James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña announced on stage. Whilst no official details of the sequel were revealed (it will be released theatrically in December 2025 though), Cameron did show attendees concept art from the film showing the Ash People of the Na’vi and their otherworldly masks.
Freaky Friday 2, which we already knew was going into production, officially announced its title as Freakier Friday, as original stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan took to the stage with highlighted stills that, once again, revealed their body swaps. Not much is known about the sequel plot-wise, but we do know that original cast members Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Haley Hudson, Lucille Soong, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rosalind Chao are all returning, with Manny Jacinto joining the fray as Lohan’s character’s new husband. We’ll only have to wait until next year to learn just who is swapping with who.
And to round-up D23’s entertainment franchise showcase was the first look at the third film in the Tron franchise, Tron: Ares.
Jeff Bridges once again returns to the series set inside the virtual software of computer technology, with Evan Peters, Greta Lee, and Jared Leto as the titular Ares, a highly sophisticated AI sent to the real world for an undisclosed mission, also on board. It was also revealed that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross‘ band Nine Inch Nails will be composing the film’s soundtrack.
On a television screen not so far away…
On the televisual side of things, Disney+ continue their expansion of established cinematic universes. Jude Law joins the Star Wars universe in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which is set during the New Republic era in the years after Return of the Jedi. There’s a certain old-fashioned charm to the trailer (anybody thinking this is giving Goonies in space?) which reveals the series will commence streaming on December 3rd this year.
It really was Agatha All Along
Life’s a witch, and now so is she! One of WandaVision‘s most talked-about character reveals was that of Kathryn Hahn‘s Agatha, and now she has her own series to contend with. Set in the aftermath of WandaVision, Hahn leads the charge in Agatha All Along, as she faces a magical gauntlet of trials along the Witches Road as she seeks to gain her powers back.
Alongside Hahn, Agatha All Along‘s bewitching cast features Joe Locke, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, and Debra Jo Rupp. The show will premiere its first two episodes on Disney+ on September 18th this year.
Win or Lose
Pixar’s first-ever original TV series is on the way with Win or Lose, which introduces us to the Pickles, a softball team gearing up for a championship. With a variety of colourful characters, including insecure kids, helicopter parents, a lovesick umpire, and the Pickles’ coach (voiced by Will Forte), the game of their lives could prove your family’s latest binge obsession. Huddle up from December 6th on Disney+.
For more information on all things D23, head to the official site here. You can also read about all their Theme Park announcements on our site here.
