Every Upcoming Movie and Show Announced at Disney Investor Day—Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and More
Today, December 10, was Disney Investor Day, and that means Disney has released a long list of movies and shows they will be releasing in the next few years. I don’t think I will be including the ESPN and Hulu projects because nobody cares about those as much.
I’m now gonna end my introduction because you don’t care to read it and I want to get started writing about their upcoming projects because there are a lot.
Disney+
Disney+ will be raising their monthly subscription price from $6.99 to $7.99, with the yearly subscription going from $69.99 to $79.99 starting on March 26, 2021. The Disney Bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Plus will be going up to $13.99 a month.
Also, Disney will be introducing Star and Star+, which are new 18+ sections that will only be available in many international markets upon its release on February 23, 2021. This section is likely to feature R-rated 20th Century Fox properties such as Logan, Deadpool, Alien, Predator, and Die Hard.
Star Wars
Okay, now for what you’ve been waiting for! The upcoming Star Wars projects headed our way!
Rangers of the New Republic
From executive producers Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau comes Rangers of the New Republic, a series set in the timeline of The Mandalorian. It will crossover with future seasons of Mando, as will the next show on this list.
Ahsoka
Rosario Dawson will be reprising her role as Ahsoka Tano in this spin-off series of The Mandalorian. Ahsoka has become a fan favorite after her appearances in the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels and I think many (myself included) are excited for a spin-off with her as the lead.
Andor
This show is a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and will star Diego Luna in his role as Cassian Andor five years before the events of Rogue One. Alan Tudyk will also be reprising his role as K-2SO and Tony Gilroy will be the showrunner.
Genevieve O’Reilly will be once again playing Mon Mothma and it will premiere on Disney+ in 2022.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
The iconic character from the Star Wars series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is returning in a Disney+ series. Ewan McGregor will be reprising his role from the prequel trilogy. It will take place ten years after the events of Episode III -Revenge of the Sith.
While news of this show has existed for a while, it was announced today that Hayden Christensen will return to his iconic role as Darth Vader. The two stars of the prequels are reuniting and needless to say, I cannot wait.
The Bad Batch
While everything we’ve mentioned has been live-action, this will be an animated spin-off of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The series will follow the Bad Batch, a ragtag group of clones introduced in the first arc of season 7 of The Clone Wars.
It debuts on Disney+ in 2021 and will follow the clones after the fall of the Republic during the Imperial era.
Visions
This is an upcoming series of anime-style short films. It will take place in the Star Wars galaxy and have many Japanese anime creators working on it. It comes to Disney+ in 2021.
Lando
Lando Calrissian will be returning in an upcoming Disney+ series. While it is easy to suspect that Donald Glover will be reprising the role from Solo: A Star Wars Story, no cast has been confirmed yet, but the series will be developed by Justin Simien.
The Acolyte
The Acolyte is a new Star Wars series coming to Disney+. It will be developed by Leslye Headland, and it is, “a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.”
While it may not feature any familiar faces, I am glad to see that we are getting to see more original stories and characters in the Star Wars galaxy rather than the limited window of time the existing works have given us.
A Droid Story
This upcoming Disney+ series will feature a new character guided by the bickering droids we love, R2-D2 and C-3PO. It is likely that Anthony Daniels will be returning to the role of C-3PO and development will be handled by Industrial Light & Magic.
Unnamed Star Wars film
Taika Waititi, the director of Thor: Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit, will be helming a brand new Star Wars film. Waititi also directed Chapter 8 of The Mandalorian, where he provided the voice of IG-11.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
And finally, we have our next feature-length Star Wars movie. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron will be the first installment of the new Star Wars series. It will be directed by Patty Jenkins, the director of the two Wonder Woman films and it will be released on December 25, 2023.
It will also be the first Star Wars movie to be directed by a woman. And that about wraps it up for the Star Wars section.
National Geographic
Okay, I don’t do nature stuff, but I don’t want to leave this out. Here are the upcoming NatGeo projects!
Cousteau
This feature documentary will chronicle the life of legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau.
Genius: Martin Luther King, Jr.
Season 4 of Genius will be on Disney+. The executive producers will be Brian Grazer and Ron Howard and it will explore the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Secrets of the Whales
Secrets of the Whales is a natural history series three years in the making. It will be narrated by Sigourney Weaver and executive produced by James Cameron, who previously worked together on the sci-fi action classic, Aliens.
A Real Bug’s Life
I hate bugs, so looking up images on Google nauseated me, but A Real Bug’s Life is a new upcoming Disney+ nature documentary (series?) and it will be about bugs.
America the Beautiful
This is the ambitious story of North America. It will show us visually spectacular regions through the eyes of its iconic species.
Limitless
This is described as one-part science, one-art action-adventure. Hosted by Chris Hemsworth of the Thor films, this series will showcase the limits of the human body and show how to stay younger and healthier.
Welcome to Earth
This series from Darren Aronofsky, director of Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan, stars Will Smith as he embarks on a journey to uncover the world’s most unexplained phenomena.
Alright, you still with me? Cool. I’m going down the Disney Twitter account to write this article. They have sequels and originals next on their list, but I’m gonna save that for later because I know what you want to see first.
Pixar
Everyone needs a good cry now and again and they always deliver.
Soul
Just in case you forgot, Pixar’s next film is Soul, a movie about a musician who falls into the world of the souls and must try to get back to the real world. It has gotten universal acclaim so far and will be premiering on Disney+ for no extra fee on December 25, 2020.
It will be accompanied by a Pixar SparkShort, Burrow, about a young rabbit trying to build the home of her dreams.
Dug Days
This upcoming series is a spin-off of my personal favorite Pixar movie, Up. It follows everyone’s favorite golden retriever, Dug, as he meets puppies, fireworks, and SQUIRRELS! It will premiere in fall 2021.
Cars Series
Lightning McQueen and Mater, the two main players of the Cars series, are getting a road trip show where they’ll meet new cars and see new places while also seeing some familiar faces. It will premiere in fall 2022.
Win or Lose
Pixar’s first long-form animated series comes in the form of Win or Lose, a show about a middle school softball team in the week leading up to their championship game. Each episode is from the perspective of a different character. It will premiere in fall 2023.
Luca
Pixar’s next film after Soul is Luca, a movie about Luca and his best friend, Alberto during an unforgettable summer. It will hit theaters on June 18, 2021.
Turning Red
This film comes from Domee Shi, the director of the Pixar short, Bao. It follows Mei, a teenager who turns into a giant red panda every time she gets too excited.
Definitely one of the more unique concepts, and I’m stoked to see it.
Lightyear
This is the story of the original Buzz Lightyear, the man whom the toy from Toy Story is based on. Lightyear will be voiced by Chris Evans (a.k.a. Captain America) and we will be going to infinity and beyond in theaters on June 17, 2022.
Alright, that’s your dose of Pixar! We now move on to…
Disney’s Originals, Sequels, and Remakes
There should be some good stuff in here.
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers
I didn’t even know there were such a thing as three Mighty Ducks movies, but this is a new series that will take place where the films left off. Emilio Estevez will reprise his role as Gordon Bombay, with Lauren Graham joining the cast.
Turner & Hooch
It’s great to see Josh Peck get more work. I’ve spent years watching him on Drake & Josh and David Dobrik’s vlogs, and he will be starring in this reimagining of the 1989 Tom Hanks comedy about a detective with a dog as his partner.
Big Shot
This is a celebration of girl power in a series about high school basketball. It stars John Stamos, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Jessalyn Gilsig. This will premiere on Disney+.
The Mysterious Benedict Society
This TV series will be based on the book series and it will star Tony Hale and Kristen Schaal. It will premiere on Disney+ in 2021.
I’m just gonna skip over a tweet about the Kardashians for obvious reasons so let’s move on.
Hocus Pocus 2
This is a sequel to the somewhat classic 1993 Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus. It will be exclusively released on Disney+ and Adam Shankman will be directing it. Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy will be returning as the trio of witches.
Three Men and a Baby
Zac Efron will star in the remake of a 1987 comedy, Three Men and a Baby. It will be released on Disney+ in 2022.
Sports Originals
I love basketball, so I’ll be watching these.
Flora and Ulysses
This movie is based on a children’s book and it is about a cynical young comic fan with a superpowered squirrel sidekick. It will be streaming on February 19, 2021 on Disney+.
Cheaper by the Dozen
This is a reimagining of the famous comedy, Cheaper by the Dozen. It will premiere on Disney+ in 2022 and will star Gabrielle Union in a blended family of 12 with a family business and a hectic home life.
The Little Mermaid
Disney has unveiled the full cast of the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, with Halle Bailey as Ariel, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, and Awkwafina as a character named Skuttle.
It will be directed by Rob Marshall and feature songs from the original as well as new songs from Al Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers
John Mulaney and Andy Samberg will star in Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, a hybrid live-action-animated feature film that follows the two iconic chipmunk brothers.
It will be directed by Akva Schaffer and be released on Disney+.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
In 2021, all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid films will be on Disney+ (please skip The Long Haul, it’s truly horrible) and they will also be making a brand new animated film based on the series. I can’t wait because I grew up with the books and the movies and I’m excited to see where they go with it.
Okay. I have officially been typing non-stop for about three hours now. I did not think there were this many projects and if I knew that, I probably wouldn’t have structured the article in this time-consuming way. My fingers are really sore and I have to be awake in seven hours for Zoom meetings, so I’m going to sign off for now, go to sleep, and finish the rest soon.
Coming up next! More originals, sequels, and remakes, plus some news on Disney animated films, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Stay tuned.
Alright, good morning. I’m back.
You know, I spent way too long trying to find a good Chip n’ Dale picture last night. It’s because I care about your reading experience. Now, I continue the article. Don’t tell my film teacher.
Willow
This is an upcoming Disney+ series with the pilot directed by Jon M. Chu, the director of Crazy Rich Asians and Now You See Me 2. It is based on the Lucas-produced fantasy film of the same name from 1988, and Warwick Davis will be reprising his role as Willow Ufgood.
It lands on Disney+ in 2022.
Indiana Jones 5
Indiana Jones 5 has finally entered preproduction. Harrison Ford will be returning to his iconic role and it will be the first in the series not to be directed by Steven Spielberg.
James Mangold, the director of Logan and Ford v Ferrari, will be directing this film. It’s going to be the final time Ford plays the role and will hit theaters in July 2022.
Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild
This is the newest spin-off of the Ice Age films. There have been five movies so far, and this spin-off will bring back Simon Pegg as the adventurous swashbuckler Buck, as well as the two possum brothers, Crash and Eddie. It arrives on Disney+ in early 2022.
Night at the Museum
An animated Night at the Museum movie will be arriving on Disney+ in 2021. The film will be produced by Shawn Levy, the director of the live-action films.
Pinocchio
This is a live-action remake of Pinocchio, directed by Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks. This reunites the director and actor for the first time since Forrest Gump. Hanks will play Geppetto and the movie will premiere on Disney+.
Peter Pan & Wendy
This retelling of the Peter Pan tale will be directed by David Lowery and it will star Jude Law as Captain Hook and Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell. The film will premiere exclusively on Disney+.
Disenchanted
Disenchanted is a sequel to Disney’s 2007 film, Enchanted. Amy Adams will reprise her role as Giselle and it will be released on Disney+.
Sister Act 3
The third installment of the Sister Act series will once again feature Whoopie Goldberg as the star with her and Tyler Perry producing the film. It will be released exclusively on Disney+.
Raya and the Last Dragon
Disney Animation released some new characters for their next animated fantasy film. Kelly Marie Tran (Rose from The Last Jedi) will voice the lead character, Raya, with Awkwafina voicing Sisu, a self-deprecating dragon who will likely be the film’s comic relief.
This movie premieres in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access on March 5, 2021. That means that just like with Mulan, you can see it at home for a $30 fee.
Animated Series Based on Films
Well, the information is in the tweet. Disney will be making new animated series based on Big Hero 6, Zootopia, The Princess and the Frog, and Moana.
Iwájú
Disney Animation and Pan-African entertainment company Kugali are teaming up for this project. It will be a sci-fi series premiering on Disney+.
Encanto
This upcoming animated film will take place in Colombia and it will follow a magical family living in a magical home. It will be directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, co-directed and co-written by Charise Castro Smith, with music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Holy cow, I think that’s it! We now move on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for.
Marvel Studios
Right now, not even I know all the projects Marvel is releasing. Let’s find out together.
WandaVision
We have a brand new trailer of Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ miniseries, WandaVision. This six-episode show will have Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprising their roles as Wanda Maximoff and Vision, respectively, and some more familiar MCU faces will be back.
It will premiere on Disney+ on January 15, 2021.
Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness
This is the sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange and it will feature Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Elizabeth Olsen, and Chiwetel Ejofor reprising their existing MCU roles. Xochitl Gomez will be playing America Chavez.
The film will be directed by Sam Raimi, the director of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man films and it will tie into WandaVision and the upcoming Spider-Man sequel.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Well, I just watched the trailer for this show and it made me really happy. I’m super excited for this.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is an upcoming six-episode miniseries with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their roles as, well, the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It looks like it will be a large-spectacle action spy thriller with some buddy cop elements, and that works for me.
It starts streaming on Disney+ on March 19, 2021.
Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson portrays Black Widow again in her first standalone film. It was pushed back twice due to the pandemic, and it is now scheduled for a theatrical release on May 7, 2021.
It will give us more of an insight on Natasha Romanoff’s backstory before she became an Avenger and will take place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, and David Harbour will also star in the film.
Loki
This is another Marvel six-episode miniseries which takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame when 2012 Loki took the Tesseract and created an alternate timeline.
Tom Hiddleston will be portraying Loki again in this crime thriller of sorts premiering on Disney+ in May 2021.
Spider-Man 3
Hey, it’s Jonathan from the future. I forgot to add Spider-Man 3 because Disney didn’t mention it, but there has been a lot of news surrounding it, so I want to fill you in on that in case you didn’t hear about it.
So we have a third Tom Holland Spider-Man film and this movie is bringing in the multiverse. Jamie Foxx will be portraying Max Dillon/Electro after previously portraying him in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Alfred Molina will be back as Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man 2.
Reports have also stated that Andrew Garfield will be reprising his role as Peter Parker, as will Kirsten Dunst as MJ. With this cast, Tobey Maguire and Emma Stone are likely to return as well.
What If…?
This is Marvel’s newest animated series which will show what would happen if major moments in the MCU happened differently, giving us alternate looks at the characters and events we know and love.
It will bring many of the live-action MCU actors and actresses to their respective voice roles and it will premiere on Disney+ in summer 2021.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Production on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has wrapped. This will be Marvel’s first film with an Asian cast, and it will star Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tony Leung as Wenwu/Mandarin, Awkwafina as Katy, Meng’er Zhang as Xialing, Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon, Fala Chen as Jiang Li, and Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist.
The film will be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and it will premiere in theaters on July 9, 2021.
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel is an upcoming series created by Bisha K. Ali. Iman Vellani will be portraying Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, a 16-year-old Muslim Pakistani-American from Jersey City who writes superhero fan fiction and gains shape-shifting powers.
It arrives on Disney+ in late 2021.
Captain Marvel 2
Brie Larson reprises her role as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel in the sequel to her successful 2019 film. Iman Vellani and Teyonah Paris will be reprising their roles as Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau, after they first appear in Ms. Marvel and WandaVision.
It will be directed by Nia DaCosta and arrives in theaters on November 11, 2022.
Eternals
This film will be directed by Chloé Zhao and stars Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Don Lee, Kit Harington, Gemma Chan, and Barry Keoghan. It will be released on November 5, 2021.
Hawkeye
Jeremy Renner will be reprising his role as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, with Hailee Steinfeld co-starring as Kate Bishop, a young archer who Clint is training. Vera Farmiga, Fra Fee, and Alaqua Cox will also be appearing in the show.
It arrives on Disney+ in late 2021.
She-Hulk
This MCU series will star Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk. Tim Roth will reprise his role as Abomination from The Incredible Hulk and Mark Ruffalo will be appearing as Bruce Banner himself.
It will be directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia, and it is yet another TV series of Phase Four of the MCU, premiering on Disney+ in 2022.
OH MY GOD, THERE ARE SO MANY! MY FINGERS ARE SO SORE! I can do this. But I’m not writing an article like this again for a while.
Moon Knight
This series will star Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron from Star Wars) as Marc Spector/Moon Knight, a complex vigiliante. It arrives on Disney+ in 2022.
Secret Invasion
This upcoming series will arrive on Disney+ and will star Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, the Skrull from Captain Marvel.
Ironheart
This series will arrive on Disney+ and will star Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, an inventor who creates the most complex suit of armor since Iron Man.
Oh man, my fingers are killing me. We’re almost done.
Armor Wars
Armor Wars will star Don Cheadle in his role as James Rhodes/War Machine in a series about what would happen if Tony Stark’s tech fell into the wrong hands. It will premiere on Disney+. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
James Gunn, the man behind the Guardians films, will be directing a holiday special of The Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s a special that will premiere on Disney+ in December 2022, taking place before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is currently set for a 2023 release date as part of Phase Five.
My fingers are numb, you hear me?! NUMB!
I Am Groot
This series will feature Baby Groot in a series of shorts on Disney+ which will feature new and unusual characters. Vin Diesel has not been confirmed to reprise his role yet, but this looks good for a cute watch.
Thor: Love and Thunder
Thor is getting a fourth film in his series. Set to be released in theaters on May 6, 2022, this film brings back Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi, Vin Diesel, and Chris Pratt in their respective roles as Thor, Valkyrie, Korg, Groot, and Star-Lord.
Natalie Portman will be making her long-awaited MCU return as Jane Foster, who will become Mighty Thor in this film. Christian Bale (Batman from The Dark Knight trilogy) will be portraying Gorr the God Butcher, the villain of the film. Waititi will direct the film again after the success of Thor: Ragnarok.
Blade
While we already have an existing trilogy of Blade films starring Wesley Snipes in the role, this will be Blade’s introduction into the MCU, with Mahershala Ali filling in the shoes of this vampire-killing superhero.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
The title of Ant-Man 3 has been revealed as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a new sequel with returning director Peyton Reed and actors Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Michael Douglas.
Kathryn Newton will be taking over the role of Scott’s daughter, Cassie Lang. Also, Jonathan Majors will be portraying Kang the Conqueror. It will be part of Phase Five.
Black Panther II
This film is being written and directed by Ryan Coogler and it will not feature T’Challa himself following the tragic death of actor Chadwick Boseman. The film will instead follow the world of Wakanda and the supporting characters of the original film, including Nakia, Okoye, and Princess Shuri.
I’m probably the least excited for this film because I don’t see the point in a Black Panther movie without Black Panther himself, but it comes to theaters on July 8, 2022.
Fantastic Four
Jon Watts, the director of the Tom Holland Spider-Man films, will be directing the MCU’s version of Fantastic Four. This will be interesting because Marvel has now failed at making a good film with these characters four times: in 1994 with an unreleased independent failure, in 2005 and 2007 with the Chris Evans films, and in 2015 with Michael B. Jordan in Fant4stic.
So Marvel’s fifth attempt at a good movie with the Fantastic Four is headed our way; let’s pray they don’t mess it up again.
Oh my goodness, I think I’m done!
ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! If you’re still reading this, thank you. I have now invested a total of six hours into this article and my fingers are aching.
So please hit that clap button as many times as you want. Go to town on it. Share this article on Twitter and Facebook and TikTok if that’s possible.
