Well, it could be argued that last night was the biggest single night Disney had since it started bringing Marvel and Star Wars (not to mention Pixar and more) to the big screen.
Yes, it was the Disney Investor Day 2020 and, while it’s always a big night but in the current year, it was important that Disney deliver and, well, deliver they certainly did.
TEN STAR WARS AND TEN MARVEL SHOWS… AND MORE
First up, Walt Disney Company’s Media and Entertainment Distribution Chairman Kareem Daniel said the company planned approximately ten Marvel series, ten Star Wars series and fifteen live-action, animation and Pixar series on Disney+ (which now has 86.8 million subscribers) over the next few years – exactly how long that is, wasn’t quite revealed.
“With these Disney+ originals, along with theatrical releases and library titles, we will be adding something new to the service every week,” he said.
Over the course of the four hour event, we go the reveal of what the majority of these were… and we were not disappointed (links here and here).
ADULT SHOWS & MOVIES
It was also announced that the service launch on February 23rd, 2021 and is set to offer an adult section that will be hidden and will have to be unlocked and password protected so no-one can accidentally stumble into it.
It will primarily handle the 20th Century Fox material acquired by Disney during their acquisition of the company – so expect to see Logan, Deadpool, Kingsman and more on there.
The section is called Star+.
20TH CENTURY FOX CONTENT
During the event Hulu President Kelly Campbell revealed that new titles are set to be co-produced with 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures.
On top of this, ESPN+ and all of its content will be available through Hulu, with users being able to link accounts directly.
STREAMING AND CINEMA SIMULTANEOUS RELEASE
Disney executive chairman Bob Iger says the company will always prioritize “quality not volume… [quality] always holds its value across the board”and this means the only difference between the movies and TV shows on Disney+ is running time.
Following Warner Bros/HBO Max’s strategy, Raya and the Last Dragon will debut in cinemas and on Disney+ on the same day on March 5th, 2021. No mention if other movies will follow suit, but I’d imagine this will be a yet for future releases along with how Warners perform.
On top of this, they announced shows based on animated movies Big Hero 6 (Baymax!), The Princess and the Frog (Tiana) as well as Moana and Zootopia (continues after pic):
LIVE-ACTION DISNEY PROPERTIES
Another two of Disney’s big properties got new instalments announced last night with Disney+ set to future both.
A live-action/animated Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers movie is coming with Akiva Schaffer directing and John Mulaney and Andy Samberg starring.
I’m pretty excited about this as I’m a big Chip N’ Dale fans ever since I was a kid.
On top of this, we finally got the official word that Hocus Pocus 2 is coming with Adam Shankman directing – anyone who knows this site, will know that this movie is a big deal at my house every Halloween, so I’ll be looking forward to this.
Disenchanted, a sequel to Enchanted, is coming and word is everyone is returning… but so far, we know Amy Adams is definitely on board as Giselle.
The Lion King live-action movie is getting a prequel from Barry Jenkins as well as an animated Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, a reboot of Cheaper by the Dozen starring Gabrielle Union and a remake of Three Men and a Baby which will star Zac Efron.
On top of this, we got teasers for Peter Pan and Wendy – coming to Disney+ – directed by David Lowery and starring Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell and Jude Law as Hook:
Peter Pan & Wendy will be flying to #DisneyPlus. David Lowery directs an amazing cast including @YaraShahidi in the role of Tinker Bell and Jude Law as Captain Hook. pic.twitter.com/U8tWoxxSOk
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) December 11, 2020
And the Robert Zemeckis-directed Pinnochio with Tom Hanks as Geppeto:
One of Disney’s all-time classics is coming to #DisneyPlus with the new live-action retelling of Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis. ✨ pic.twitter.com/44bHbFRhMe
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) December 11, 2020
TO INFINITY… AND BEYOND
In one of the most wtf moments of the evening, it was revealed that Chris Evans will replace Tim Allen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Lightyear, a theatrical prequel to Toy Story set for cinemas on June 17th, 2022.
The “definitive story of the original Buzz Lightyear” which inspired the toy seen in the Toy Story movies, apparently. Playing out like a big space epic, “Lightyear” will soar into cinemas on June 17th 2022 (continues after video):
Lightyear is the first of two Pixar animated movies set for 2022, with the second being Turning Red, directed by Domee Shi and telling the story of a girl who becomes a giant red panda depending upon her mood. It’s set for cinema on March 11th, 2022 (continues after pic).
UP AND CARS SERIES… AND MORE
It looks like three new Pixar shows are on the way, with two of them being spin-offs of already well-established properties.
Dug Days is a spin-off of Up as Dug the dog discovers the dangers of suburbia. It arrives in Fall 2021.
Cars is next for a spin-off series starring Lightning McQueen and Mater it will feature ‘new characters, old friends and imaginative destinations and arrives Fall 2022’.
Original series Win or Lose is ‘a long-form animated series about a middle school softball team in the week leading up to their championship game, with each episode is told from the perspective of a different character. It’s set for Fall 2023.
Finally, Pan-African entertainment company Kugali will team with the studio for Iwaju, a sci-fi show set for Disney+ in 2022.
ENCANTO
Disney Animation revealed their teaser trailer for Encanto, the Colombia-set movie set for release on November 24th, 2021.
From Zootopia directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush, it tells the story of a Colombian girl whose whole family have magical ability but she doesn’t. It will feature music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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