There was a lot happening at Disney’s D23 expo this year. During Friday’s Entertainment Showcase, fans were given a look into the upcoming slate of projects that every umbrella of the company is working on. From Pixar to Marvel and a galaxy far, far away, there is a lot to look forward to!
There were lots of TV show announcements this year, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of movies to get excited about! So let’s talk about every movie we know is coming from the Mouse!
Moana 2
The new sequel to Moana gave us a taste of what’s to come for Moana (AuliÊ»i Cravalho) and Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). Fans got a new trailer that shows Moana with her sister, a bit more of the story, and some of the music from Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, who are known online for their unofficial Bridgerton musical.
The film is set to release later this fall on November 27.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
The third installment to James Cameron’s Avatar movies had a moment when Cameron came out with the cast. Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington both took the stage to talk about playing Jake Sully and Neytiri and what coming back to Pandora meant to them. Cameron also gave fans an official title for the third movie!
Avatar: Fire and Ash will take us to new tribes on Pandora and explore more of this world that Cameron has created. As of right now, the release date for the film is set for December 19, 2025.
Toy Story 5
Toys are meeting technology! Toy Story 5 is bringing all our favorite toys back to navigate a world with cell phones. In the fifth Toy Story movie, Buzz, Woody, and all their friends have to try to figure out how to get kids to still play with toys and have that childlike wonder when they could be playing a game on their phone or watching something on television.
Right now, the film is set to release on June 19, 2026, so we still have some time before Woody and Buzz are back in action.
Hoppers
A new Pixar movie is heading our way called Hoppers. Starring Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, and Jon Hamm, the movie takes us into a world where you can have your consciousness transferred to that of an animal. So Mabel (Curda), who loves animals, decides she wants to be a beaver. Along the way, she meets King George (Moynihan) and a power hungry mayor (Hamm).
It will be released in early 2026, but we don’t know the official release date yet.
Elio
Elio is also a bit of a sci-fi adventure for Pixar, but this time, it is giving something to those of us who always believed aliens were out there, releasing in June of 2025. And Elio’s aunt is voiced by Zoe Saldaña!
The film is described as follows: “Elio, an underdog with an active imagination, finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe, he starts to form new bonds with eccentric aliens while discovering who he’s truly meant to be.”
The Incredibles 3
A movie that we know nothing else about except its existence is The Incredibles 3. Pete Docter went on stage to talk about how the latest installment to the franchise was underway and the story was still being worked on. But we are reuniting with the Parr family once again, and after the success of The Incredibles 2, we know it’s going to be amazing!
Zootopia 2
That fox and bunny who should kiss are back, baby! Fans got a look into Zootopia 2 and got to see Nick (Jason Bateman) and Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) back in action. D23 attendees were shown a clip from the movie featuring the pair trying to get answers from a walrus, and it was genuinely cute to see our favorite animal duo together again!
Zootopia 2 is hitting theaters on November 26, 2025.
Frozen III
Cue up the “ohhhhhh oh oh ohhhhhhh” song from Frozen II because we got new information on Frozen III! The film is getting another Thanksgiving release date and will hit theaters on November 24, 2027, which is a long way away, but we did get a glimpse of the concept art.
Anna was riding on a horse next to Elsa, who had a horse made of ice, and a creature was lurking behind them. We don’t know what it means, so we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for our beloved sisters from Arendelle.
The Mandalorian and Grogu
We don’t know much about The Mandalorian and Grogu but at D23, we saw a teaser trailer that was … hot. I mean, it is Din Djarin. Are we surprised? As of right now, the film is set to be released on May 22 of 2026, but filming has begun and there was enough done that we got a taste of what the movie is.
Grogu is using more of his powers, Din is protecting his family (Grogu), and it looks like a very fun continuation of what was happening on The Mandalorian.
Captain America: Brave New World
We didn’t learn anything new from the Captain America: Brave New World section of the Marvel panel. For the most part, the Marvel panel was more geared towards the television shows since the movies had their moment at San Diego Comic-Con.
They showed the same trailer, and again, a room full of people heard Harrison Ford say “adamantium,” which is kind of cool to experience twice. But other than that, we learned nothing new. The film is set to release on February 14, 2025.
Fantastic 4: First Steps
Marvel’s first family is coming. We got to see the test footage again for Fantastic 4: First Steps but we also got a video message from Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. They talked about how they wished they could be there, but fans were shown the same footage from SDCC at D23!
Fantastic 4: First Steps will hit theaters on July 25th, 2025.
Freakier Friday
Missed Anna and Tess? Wished we could see where they were after Freaky Friday? You’re in luck! Freakier Friday took the stage with fans screaming. I mean, Pink Slip is confirmed to return! You can’t harsh a millennial’s mellow right now. What we know is that the cast is back and the movie is being released in 2025. And Anna is a mom!
Lilo & Stitch
We didn’t get a lot of information about live-action Lilo & Stitch, but I did see my favorite experiment in action! We got a brief little tease of the movie that had Stitch destroying a logo, and isn’t that what we want out of Experiment 626?
The movie is coming out in 2025, but we don’t have a release date just yet. The release schedule lists two different untitled projects, but we don’t know whether or not one of those slots belongs to Lilo & Stitch yet.
Snow White
A live-action retelling of Snow White is being released on March 21, 2025. We got to hear star Rachel Zegler sing “Whistle While You Work” before they showed a teaser trailer for the film. The dwarves are CGI, and it looks … interesting to say the least, but hey, at least I might like this version of Snow White?
Tron: Ares
Now this was my time to shine. We got a trailer for Tron: Ares that took the grid into the real world. As someone who loves Kevin Flynn and this franchise, having Jeff Bridges come on stage to talk about the third film made me incredibly emotional. The film will have music by Nine Inch Nails and feature Ares (Jared Leto) trying to bring the grid everywhere.
Tron: Ares will be released on October 10, 2025.
Mufasa: The Lion King
We know that Mufasa’s relationship with Scar (known as Taka before he got his scar) is strained, but Mufasa: The Lion King promises a deeper look into their relationship. The two brothers were once close, so happy to have each other, and to see how that relationship changes and becomes the tense battle for power we see in The Lion King is going to wreck me. (Scar is my favorite villain.)
Mufasa: The Lion King is hitting theaters on December 20, 2024.
That’s all we know so far of the Disney slate! What are you most excited about?
Published: Aug 13, 2024 04:10 pm