Disney hosted its annual Investor Day 2020 on 10th December, revealing all that’s in store for the entertainment giant in the next couple of years. Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company, and Bob Iger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board, led the virtual event.
And soon, the announcements started coming in, thick and fast. Here’s a concise gist of all the announcements –
General Announcements:
1. For starters, Disney+ plans to release 10 Star Wars series, 10 Marvel series, 15 Disney live action, Disney Animation, and Pixar series, and lastly, 15 Disney live action, Disney Animation, and Pixar movies in the coming two years.
2. The company announced that The Walt Disney Company had surpassed 137 Million paid subscriptions combined.
3. Disney Plus has racked up a stupendous 86.8 million paid subscriptions globally.
Hulu has 38.8 million, while ESPN has 11.5 million paid subscribers.
4. Disney+ will raise its monthly cost to $7.99 from the present $7.00 in the USA, starting from March 2021.
5. ESPN will be available under the Hulu App from March 2021 onwards
6. Replicating the success of Disney Plus Hotstar in India, Disney will launch Star in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore on February 23, 2021, as a fully integrated part of Disney+, and will be accessible as the sixth brand tile in the app. It will feature a new collection of renowned general entertainment series, movies, documentaries and more.
Standalone streaming service Star+ will launch in Latin America in June 2021, featuring series, movies as well as live sports.
Disney Announcements –
Disney Plus –
1. Willow – an Original Series from Lucasfilm starring Warwick Davis and directed by Jon M Chu is coming in 2022
2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians – a reboot series
3. Tiana – A spin-off series on the Disney Princess
4. Moana – An animated series on the Disney Princess
5. Beauty and the Beast – Series starring Luke Evans and Josh Gad, with new music composed by Alan Menken
6. Swiss Family Robinson – A series created by Ron Moore and Jon M. Chu, which will reimagine the classic
7. Iwájú – An animated sci-fi series which will debut on Disney+ in 2022.
8. New spinoff series announced for The Mighty Ducks, Chip & Dale, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia, and a sequel to 1993’s Hocus Pocus.
9. Three Men and a Baby – A reboot series starring Zac Efron
Cinemas –
1. Black Widow and Jungle Cruise will keep their dates with the theatre as planned. There is no plan of moving them to streaming.
2. Indiana Jones 5 – To be directed by James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari), featuring Harrison Ford in his iconic character. Slated for July 2022.
3. Children of Blood & Bone – based on Tomi Adeyemi’s bestselling novel, being developed by Lucasfilm in partnership with 20th Century Studios. It is a coming-of-age adventure about a young African girl’s quest to rescue and restore magic to her forsaken people, the Maji.
4. Pinocchio – The live-action Pinocchio remake starring Tom Hanks is forgoing a theatrical release entirely and will head straight to Disney+. Disney hasn’t revealed whether other live-action remakes like Cruella and Peter Pan and Wendy will follow suit.
5. Raya and the Last Dragon – It will release simultaneously in theatres and through premier access video on-demand on Disney+, at a one time cost of $29.90. Release date is set as 5th March 2021.
6. Encanto – An animated feature set in Colombia, where a magical family lives in a magical home. The film is directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, co-directed and co-written by Charise Castro Smith. Encanto’s music will be written by the prolific Lin-Manuel Miranda
Star Wars Announcements –
Disney Plus –
1. Star Wars: Andor – a prequel series to Rogue One
2. Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi – with Hayden Christensen as Darth VaderHayden Christensen returns as Darth Vader, and Ewan McGregor as Kenobi. The Original Series begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Revenge of the Sith.
3. The Acolyte – Leslye Headland’s female-driven mystery-thriller series set in the High Republic era.
4. Lando – an event series featuring Lando Calrissian
5. Star Wars: Ahsoka – a spin-off of The Mandalorian, starring Rosario Dawson and set within the timeline of The Mandalorian
6. Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic – another spin-off of The Mandalorian
7. A Droid Story – an epic animated series, featuring a new hero guided by R2-D2 and C-3PO.
8. Star Wars: Visions – an Original anthology Series of animated short films through the lens of the world’s best Japanese anime creators
9. Star Wars: The Bad Batch – an animated Original Star Wars series. A trailer was also revealed for it.
10. The Mandalorian Season 3 – returns
Cinemas –
1. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron – to be directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), featuring a new generation of heroic pilots. It will be the first Star Wars film to be directed by a woman.
2. An unnamed Star Wars film – directed by Taika Waititi, is in development
Marvel Cinematic Universe Announcements –
Disney Plus –
1. Secret Invasion – featuring Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos
2. Ironheart – starring Dominque Thorne as armored heroine Riri Williams
3. Armor Wars – starring Don Cheadle’s War Machine as he fights to stop Tony Stark’s armor tech from falling into the wrong hands
4. Baby Groot – a series of animated specials revolving around the tiny Guardian of the Galaxy
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special – to be written and directed by James Gunn, slated for late 2022.
6. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – releases in March 2021
7. Loki – releases in May 2021
8. What If…? – Releases in Summer 2021.
9. She-Hulk – Tatiana Maslany will play the lead role in She-Hulk. Mark Ruffalo and Tim Roth will reprise their roles as Bruce Banner and The Abomination, respectively.
10. WandaVision – Releases on 15th January. Its events will connect with the upcoming film Dr Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
Cinemas –
1. Black Panther 2 – Releases on July 8, 2022. Being written & directed by Ryan Coogler. The movie will not recast T’Challa, in honor of the late Chadwick Boseman’s legacy & portrayal. Instead, the film will explore the world of Wakanda & the rich characters introduced in the first film.
2. Fantastic Four Movie – As yet unnamed, to be directed by Jon Watts, director of Spider-Man: Homecoming
3. Ant-Man 3 – It is titled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quatumania, with Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer reprising their roles.
4. Captain Marvel 2 – Brie Larson returns as Captain Marvel, with Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris who will portray Ms. Marvel and Monica Lambeau respectively. Slated to hit theaters on November 11th 2022.
5. ShangChi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – Will finish production and is expected to hit theaters on July 9th 2021
6. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man 3 – Events of both films will connect with each other. Xochitl Gomez is confirmed to play Miss America Chavez. Gomez joins Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Sam Raimi is directing the Doctor Strange sequel, which will tie into WandaVision and Spider-Man 3
7. Thor: Love and Thunder – Christian Bale is confirmed to be playing Gorr the God Butcher in the multi-star film.
Pixar Announcements –
Disney Plus –
1. A new series about the lovable golden retriever Dug from ‘Up’. The series is called ‘Dug Days’.
2. A Cars series, featuring Lightning McQueen and Mater, as they go on a cross-country road trip, and about their adventures along the way.
3. A new series ‘Win or Lose’, about a co-ed middle school softball team, as they face a challenging championship game in the coming week, with each episode told from the perspective of each character.
Cinemas –
1. Turning Red – A theatrical film about a young teenager that turns into a giant red panda every time she gets excited.
2. Lightyear – A new animated film, taking up from Toy Story, directed by Finding Dory co-director Angus MacLane. It will be an origin story for Buzz Lightyear. Chris Evans will star as Buzz.
FX and Hulu Announcements:
1. Dopesick – A new drama series inspired by true events, starring Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard and Rosario Dawson.
2. Alien series: Created by Noah Hawley, the series is set on Earth and blends the timeless horror of the first Alien film with the non-stop action of the second
3. Nine Perfect Strangers – New series from creator David E. Kelley, starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy
4. The Old Man – Starring Jeff Bridges as a former CIA operative who is forced to reconcile with his past.
4. Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Renewed for a further four seasons
5. The Handmaid’s Tale –
Season 4 returns in 2021, and has also been renewed for Season 5.
6. New seasons of Atlanta, American Horror Story, Dave, What We Do in the Shadows, Mayans, Better Things, Snowfall, and Archer
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