December 10th, Disney hosted a virtual investors day, streaming presentations from division heads. Since Disney is reeling from a loss of revenue from their theme parks and cruise lines, as well as almost full closure of movie theaters, Disney+, their direct-to-consumer streaming service is the rare semi-profitable division.
I say “semi” because Disney themselves do not expect profitability from Disney+ until 2024, even though they are close to achieving the guidance posted last year (82.8 Million subscribers towards a goal of 60-90 Million, now revised to 230-260 Million!)
This presentation was less “talking to investors” and more “Patton addressing his troops”. True fans (a term used by Disney!) number about one billion worldwide, and much of this presentation was direct-to-consumer. Like the latest episode of The Mandalorian, the Internet lit up over the announcements. (You can read my liveblog notes here.)
Of the 100+ projects announced, over 80 are headed to Disney+, either as exclusives, or day-and-date theatrical releases, such as the upcoming Soul from Pixar. There wasn’t a lot of emphasis on theatrical releases. They were mentioned, but not showcased. What follows is an update to our Disney theatrical release calendar from last April.
The first big news, overshadowed by the Marvel and Star Wars news, is that most of the “live-action” (i.e. “re-animated”) remakes of Disney animated features are going direct to Disney+. The other big news: Pixar will produce original films and series for Disney+!
So, let’s see… what’s happening in 2021 and beyond? Here’s what I could discover, from every corner of Disney’s studios, including 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures.
I’m ignoring most of the “untitled” projects, unless it’s Marvel or Disney, and those titles are 2023 and later. (Yes, Disney has slated films through 2028.) “Disney Live-Action” might be viable in theaters in 2023, but I’m ignoring the entire slate until actual titles are scheduled. The Little Mermaid might hit the big screen, but I can find no official release date or platform.
I have added three Spider-Man movies from Sony, given the current state of co-operation between Marvel Studios and Columbia Pictures: Morbius, the upcoming Spider-Man sequel, and the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
As always, I will not speculate on which movies in development (see the list at the bottom) will link to which “untitled” movies. It was foolish years ago, when DC announced their slate of movies. Remember The Flash from 2016? Maybe it will hit in 2022. And I think you can forget about that Cyborg movie planned for 2020 way back in 2015. This calendar is tentative, even with the pandemic. Feel free to prognosticate in the comments.
Also note, titles marked with a * are slated to be released on Disney+ on the given date.
| December 25, 2020 | Soul * | Pixar |
| ——— | ||
| Feb 19, 2021 | Nomadland | Searchlight |
| March 5, 2021 | Raya and the Last Dragon * | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| March 12, 2021 | The King’s Man | 20th Century Studios |
| March 19, 2021 | Morbius | Sony |
| April 9, 2021 | Bob’s Burgers | Twentieth Century Fox |
| April 23, 2021 | Ron’s Gone Wrong | Twentieth Century Fox |
| May 7, 2021 | Black Widow | Marvel Studios |
| May 21, 2021 | Free Guy | 20th Century Studios |
| May 28, 2021 | Cruella * | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| June 18, 2021 | Luca | Pixar |
| July 9, 2021 | Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Marvel Studios |
| July 30, 2021 | Jungle Cruise | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Aug 13, 2021 | Deep Water | 20th Century Studios |
| August 27, 2021 | The Beatles: Get Back | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| September 17, 2021 | Death on the Nile | 20th Century Studios |
| October 15, 2021 | The Last Duel | 20th Century Studios |
| November 5, 2021 | Eternals | Marvel Studios |
| November 24, 2021 | Encanto | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| December 10, 2021 | West Side Story | 20th Century Studios |
| December 17, 2021 | Untitled Spider-Man Sequel | Sony |
| ——— | ||
| January 14, 2022 | Nimona | Twentieth Century Fox |
| March 11, 2022 | Turning Red | Pixar |
| March 25, 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Marvel Studios |
| May 6, 2022 | Thor: Love and Thunder | Marvel Studios |
| June 17, 2022 | Lightyear | Pixar |
| July 8, 2022 | Black Panther II | Marvel Studios |
| July 29, 2022 | Final untitled Indiana Jones | Lucasfilm |
| October 7, 2022 | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 | Sony |
| November 11, 2022 | Captain Marvel 2 | Marvel Studios |
| November 23, 2022 | Untitled Disney Animation | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| December 16, 2022 | Avatar 2 | 20th Century Studios |
| ——— | ||
| February 17, 2023 | Untitled Marvel | Marvel Studios |
| May 5, 2023 | Untitled Marvel | Marvel Studios |
| May 26, 2023 | Unknown Title | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| June 16, 2023 | Untitled Pixar Animation | Pixar |
| July 14, 2023 | Unknown Title | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| July 28, 2023 | Untitled Marvel | Marvel Studios |
| August 11, 2023 | Unknown Title | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| October 6, 2023 | Unknown Title | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| November 3, 2023 | Untitled Marvel | Marvel Studios |
| November 22, 2023 | Untitled Disney Animation | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| December 15, 2023 | Unknown Title [Probably Star Wars] | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
| Chistmas 2023 | Star Wars: Rogue Squadron | Lucasfilm |
| ——— | ||
| December 20, 2024 | Avatar 3 | 20th Century Studios |
| ——— | ||
| December 19, 2025 | Untitled Taika Waititi Star Wars Film | Lucasfilm |
| ——— | ||
| December 18, 2026 | Avatar 4 | 20th Century Studios |
| ——— | ||
| December 17, 2027 | Untitled Star Wars | Lucasfilm |
| ——— | ||
| December 22, 2028 | Avatar 5 | 20th Century Studios |
Raya and the Last Dragon will be simultaneous with Disney+, as a premium title.
In development (dates uncertain)
- The Lion King [CGI prequel]
- The Little Mermaid [cast]
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid [animated], Disney+
- Sister Act 3
- Blade
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- Fantastic Four
- Children of Blood and Bone
- Antlers
- The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun [Wes Anderson] and other Searchlight films
