In case you hadn’t noticed, Disney made a few announcements during its Investor Day 2020. Just a few... Your social feeds will have most likely been full new TV show and movie announcements as Disney revealed multiple new projects from Marvel, LucasFilm, Pixar, and FX. We’re getting at least 10 new Star Wars shows and 10 new Marvel shows, for starters, and although that’s probably the biggest news of the hour, it’s barely a drop in the ocean of what we can expect from the House of Mouse in 2021 and 2022.
To make things a bit easier to digest, we’ve put all the major titles together in one place, from animated shorts to feature-length live-action remakes. Read on to see what we can expect from Disney in the coming months (and years)...
Marvel
Where to begin with Marvel? There’s certainly no shortage of new comic book adaptations coming in the near future. Take a deep breath – here we go.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront a past he thought he’d left behind when he’s drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organisation. Awkwafina, Tony Leung, and Michelle Yeoh also star.
A new series, Loki, will take place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Tom Hiddleston will return as the God of Mischief, and he’ll be joined by Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Richard E. Grant.
Marvel also confirmed that Black Panther 2 will honour the legacy of Chadwick Boseman and his portrayal of T’Challa, and the character will not be recast. Instead, the movie “will continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.”
Upcoming series Ms. Marvel will introduce us to Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City who idolises superheroes, especially Captain Marvel. She struggles to fit in at home and at school – that is, until she develops superpowers of her own.
Which leads us to Captain Marvel 2, directed by Nia DaCosta. The sequel will see Brie Larson return as Carol Danvers. She’s joined by Vellani, who’ll return as Ms. Marvel, and Teyonah Parris as grown-up Monica Rambeau. Rambeau will first portray the character in WandaVision.
Then there’s Eternals, which features the MCU’s newest ensemble of heroes in a story that spans thousands of years. Directed by Chloé Zhao, the all-star cast includes Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie.
Tatiana Maslany is She-Hulk, AKA Jennifer Walters, a lawyer who specialises in superhuman-orientated legal cases. Expect appearances from the OG Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo, in this new comedy series, too. Meanwhile, Marvel’s first animated series, What if…?, will “flip the script on the MCU, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways.”
There's also Hailee Steinfeld, who has been confirmed as Kate Bishop in Hawkeye. Plus, we're getting Ironheart, Secret Invasion, and Armor Wars, the latter of which will see Don Cheadle return as War Machine.
James Gunn will helm The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, set for release in 2022, while everyone’s favourite baby tree will return in I Am Groot, a series of shorts. In other superhero ensemble news, Spider-Man Homecoming's Jon Watts is on board to direct a reboot of Fantastic Four.
Meanwhile, Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly will return as our favourite bug heroes in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer are also returning, while Kathryn Newton and Jonathan Majors are joining the cast as Cassie Lang and Kang the Conqueror, respectively.
Star Wars
There are a whole bunch of new Star Wars TV shows on the horizon. Rangers of the New Republic is set within The Mandalorian timeline, intersecting with future stories and culminating into a climactic story event. After making her live-action debut in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka Tano’s story will continue in Ahsoka, a limited series starring Rosario Dawson.
Meanwhile, spy thriller Andor sees Diego Luna return as Cassian Andor from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. We already knew the Obi-Wan Kenobi series was coming, but the big announcement was that Hayden Christensen will be returning as Darth Vader.
Lots of animation on the way from Lucasfilm, too, including Star Wars: The Bad Batch, a spin-off of The Clone Wars; Star Wars: Visions from leading Japanese anime studios; and A Droid Story, featuring a new hero guided by legendary duo R2-D2 and C-3PO.
In other news, Lando, a series about the galaxy’s favourite scoundrel, Lando Calrissian, is currently in development. There’s also mystery thriller series The Acolyte, from Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland, and Willow, starring Warwick Davis as sorcerer Willow Ufgood, to look forward to.
We can also expect two new feature-length Star Wars projects: Rogue Squadron, directed by Patty Jenkins, and a currently untitled movie from Taika Waititi.
Live action movies
Harrison Ford is on board for a new instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise. Hocus Pocus 2 is on the way, as well as a reboot of Cheaper by the Dozen.
Disenchanted, a sequel to Enchanted, is coming, as is Sister Act 3 with Whoopi Goldberg. The Lion King is getting a live-action prequel directed by Barry Jenkins. The cast of the live-action remakes of The Little Mermaid and Peter Pan & Wendy have also been confirmed, with Halle Bailey as Ariel in Little Mermaid and Jude Law set to play Hook in the latest version of Peter Pan.
Pinnochio, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis, was also announced, as was Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, featuring the voices of John Mulaney and Andy Samberg. There's also a Beauty and the Beast TV series heading to Disney Plus, and a series based on Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Animated movies and shows
First up, there’s the highly anticipated Raya and the Last Dragon. It features the voices of Star Wars’ Kelly Marie Tran as Raya, a warrior searching for the last dragon in the world. Awkwafina also stars. The movie will launch simultaneously on Disney Plus via Premiere Access and in cinemas.
Next, we have Iwájú, a collaboration between Disney and an-African comic book entertainment company Kugali. The sci-fi series is set in Lagos, Nigeria, and explores themes of class, innocence and challenging the status quo.
Back to the big screen: Encanto tells the story of a family living in the Colombian mountains – each child has magical abilities except one, Mirabel. When her family’s magic is in danger, it’s up to Mirabel to save the day. The movie features original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Night at the Museum is getting an animated movie from Shawn Levy, the director of Free Guy. And Ice Age returns with the Adventures of Buck Wild, with Simon Pegg returning as Buck. An all-new Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie is also en route.
Lots more is coming to Disney Plus, including Baymax, a spin-off from Big Hero 6; Zootopia+, which will dive further into the lives of the animals of the acclaimed Disney movie; Tiana, a long-form musical comedy that's spins-off from The Princess and the Frog; and a Moana series "that follows spirited voyager Moana as she ventures far beyond the reef."
Pixar
Pixar have turned their sights to TV – Cars and Up are both getting spin-off series. Dug Days follows the misadventures of Dug the dog from Up, while in Cars the series Lightning McQueen and his best friend Mater go on a cross-country road trip. There's also Win or Lose, Pixar's first-ever original TV series that "follows a coed middle school softball team in the week leading up to their championship game."
Meanwhile, on the big screen, we have Luca, a coming of age story set on the Italian Riviera about one boy’s unforgettable summer with his newfound best friend. However, their fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret.
Turning Red is about 13-year-old Mei Lee who has to deal not only with adolescence, but also with turning into a giant red panda whenever she gets too excited. The feature is helmed by Domee Shi, who directed the tear-jerker Pixar short Bao.
There’s also sci-fi action-adventure Lightyear is the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy. Buzz will be voiced by Chris Evans.
FX
FX has got some exciting plans for the small screen, including an Alien TV show. Based on Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic of the same name, the series is set in the near future and the first Alien story to take place on Earth. The blend of horror and action will be helmed by Fargo’s Noah Hawley.
A new spin-off of American Horror Story is coming from Ryan Murphy, named (imaginatively) American Horror Stories, and four more seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia have been announced, too. This will make it the longest-running live-action sitcom in TV history.
Meanwhile, Atlanta will continue through seasons 3 and 4, Better Things season 5 is coming, What We Do in the Shadows season 3 is on the way, and so id Mayans season 3. An adaptation of Y: The Last Man was also unveiled, plus the excellent looking Shōgun, an adaptation of James Clavell’s beloved epic saga from Tim Van Patten, a producer on The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire.
Hulu
Over on Hulu, The Handmaid’s Tale has been renewed for a fifth season ahead of the premiere of season 4. Plus, Nicole Kidman will re-team with David E. Kelley, the showrunner of Big Little Lies and The Undoing, for Nine Perfect Strangers. Melissa McCarthy will also star in this adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name.
That's a lot of content! For more, check out everything coming in Marvel Phase 4 and all the new Star Wars movies on the way.
