From Disenchanted to The Little Mermaid: Here’s Disney and Pixar’s lineup for 2023 and 2024
If you’re worried about 2023 and 2024 being boring, Disney and Pixar are here to change your mind. At the D23 expo in Anaheim, California, the companies announced their lineup for the coming years and there’s a lot in store for us.
The expo event was held on Friday where Disney unveiled all of its lineup for this year as well as the next two years. They presented trailers, posters and a moment with the cast and crew for titled projects. The studio presented the upcoming roster of animated and live-action films including Hocus Pocus 2, a sequel to 2007 film Enchanted and the highly-anticipated The Little Mermaid.
Here’s everything Disney showcased at the D23 event:
2022
Hocus Pocus 2
Releasing a month before Halloween, the long-awaited sequel to Hocus Pocus is on the way and is scheduled to release on September 30. It sees a teenager who discovers that she might be a witch on her 16th birthday. In order to find out, she lights a black flame candle with her friend and all hell breaks loose, bringing the Sanderson Sisters — Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy) — back to Salem once again.
ZOOTOPIA+
The breakout film is now going to release on Disney+ in the form of a series featuring Ginnifer Goodwin’s Judy Hopps, Jason Bateman’s Nick Wilde, Rich Moore’s Doug and the original characters from the 2016 film. The series will be available to watch on November 9.
Strange World
The Clades are a family of explorers who are famous around the world. However, life changes when they stumble upon a strange new world that is full of adventure as well as danger. The family will learn how to work through their differences in order to survive. The cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Jaboukie Young-White, Dennis Quaid, and Lucy Liu. It will be releasing on November 23.
Disenchanted
Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey reprise their roles in Enchanted sequel Disenchanted. In it, we see Adams’ character Giselle trying to navigate through motherhood, living a normal life with a bit of magic and some classic fairytale drama with Maya Rudolph playing the villain. James Marsden and Idina Menzel also reprise their roles as Prince Edward and Nancy Tremaine. The film releases November 24.
2023
Haunted Mansion
Disney’s spooky classic is back for the big screen and this time with a star cast including Winona Ryder, Dan Levy, Hasan Minhaj, Jared Leto, and Jamie Lee Curtis as the iconic Madame Leota. The film will release on March 10 next year.
The Little Mermaid
If we’re excited for one thing, it would be the live-action The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey as the titular character. With the short teaser, D23 added a cherry on top of an already frosted cake. The short clip shows Bailey as Ariel, singing with her fish friend Flounder. Other cast members include Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula and Javier Bardem as King Triton.
Awkwafina will voice Scuttle, Daveed Diggs will voice Sebastian and Jacob Tremblay will voice Flounder. The film will release next year on May 26.
Elemental
Avatar the Last Airbender but make it Disney. Elemental will take place in a city where fire, water, land and air residents live together. There wasn’t much else shared but a tweet revealed animated characters and that characters Ember and Wade will be played by Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie. The film will release on June 16.
Peter Pan & Wendy
Disney also revealed the first poster for live action film Peter Pan & Wendy. The film will stream on Disney+, however, a release date has yet to be revealed.
Win or Lose
Pixar unveiled its first ever series with Win or Lose that follows a little league team on their way to finals with Will Forte as Coach Dan. The animated film has been created by Michael Yates, Carrie Hobson and David Lally. The release date has yet to be revealed.
Iwaju
The animated series is set in futuristic Lagos, Nigeria and highlights the status quo and concepts of classism. The release date and details have yet to be released.
Wish
Wish takes place in a kingdom of Wishes. Ariana DeBose of West Side Story will voice the main protagonist. The film will be a musical in a classic Disney manner and is slated for release next November.
2024
Mufasa: The Lion King
The prequel to The Lion King was also announced at the D23 event. The film will explore Mufasa’s story before he becomes king and how he was an orphan. Most importantly, the story of Mufasa will be narrated by Timon and Pumbaa. The release date is yet to be revealed.
Snow White
Rachel Zegler and Wonder Woman’s Gal Gadot will star in a live-action film on classic fairytale Snow White. Zegler will play the protagonist while Gadot will be seen as the Evil Queen. The release date is unconfirmed.
Elio
Releasing in spring of 2024, Elio is a coming-of-age story with a twist as 11-year-old Elio finds himself transported across the galaxy, making him the first human to make contact with extraterrestrial species. According to Entertainment Weekly, the cast includes America Ferrera of Ugly Betty.
Inside Out 2
Amy Poehler is returning for an Inside Out sequel as Disney announced that the second film will release in the summer of 2024. Picking up where it left off, the protagonist is now a teenager and will experience new emotions, meaning more humour and some touchy, emotional moments like the first film.