There’s plenty of new Disney movies coming our way over the next couple of years, which is great news for fans of the House of Mouse. With everything from a live-action prequel to The Lion King to a long-awaited instalment in the beloved Tron series, a wide variety of films are heading to both the big screen and streaming service Disney+.
Recently the studio announced a slew of release date changes as they shifted their schedule, with Tron 3 (officially titled Tron: Ares) being bumped up whilst the live-action version of animated classic Moana has been delayed to give other releases breathing room. Meanwhile Toy Story 5 (yes, it’s happening) has finally been giving an official release date, which is great news for those eagerly awaiting more Buzz and Woody adventures. With so many changes, we’ve got the lowdown on the latest updates and everything you need to know about every new Disney movie.
Before you head any further into our guide, we should note that even though both Star Wars and Marvel do indeed fall under the Disney umbrella, you won’t find details on those upcoming projects here. Instead for those. check out our guides on the upcoming Marvel movies and the upcoming Star Wars movies.
New Disney movies: 2024
Inside Out 2
Release date: June 14, 2024
In the follow-up to Inside Out, new emotions are joining the line-up and young Riley is now a teenager. The film has been written by Meg LeFauve, produced by Mark Nielsen, and directed by Kelsey Mann.
Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith are back as Joy and Sadness, while Tony Hale, Lewis Black, and Liza Lapira are voicing Fear, Anger, and Disgust. Hale replaces Bill Hader who previously voiced Fear but isn’t returning for the sequel, whilst Lapira is stepping into the shoes of Mindy Kaling who also isn’t reprising her role of Disgust.
Meanwhile Maya Hawke joins the cast as Anxiety, who throws the other emotions for a loop.
Moana 2
Release date: November 27, 2024
Moana 2 started life as a TV show, but Disney boss Bob Iger announced a surprise 2024 theatrical release in the company’s Q1 earnings call in February 2024.
Per Disney’s official synopsis, “Moana 2 will take audiences on an “expansive new voyage with Moana, Maui, and a brand-new crew of unlikely seafarers. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she’s ever faced.”
Auli’i Cravalho is expected to return to voice Moana, while Dave Derrick Jr., who previously worked on the first movie, as well as Encanto and Raya and the Last Dragon, will direct. It doesn’t seem like Lin-Manuel Miranda will return for songwriting duties, though – Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the duo behind the Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, are taking over instead.
The live-action remake of the first movie, starring Dwayne Johnson as Maui, is still going ahead. You can read more about that below.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Release date: December 20, 2024
The Lion King prequel is heading our way thanks to Moonlight‘s Barry Jenkins who stepped in to replace Jon Favreau as director. As confirmed by Disney, Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, and Nicholas Britell will provide the music. Timon, Pumbaa, and Rafiki will tell the story of how Mufasa went from orphan cub to King of the Pride Lands.
Kelvin Harrison Jr., who voices Scar in the movie, has teased that the film will explore his character’s backstory. “We’re going to get to really get a backstory to Scar, and he is hilarious,” he revealed. “He is still very, very spicy. He is also the sweetest young lion you also ever meet, too. So, it’s going to be fun seeing the relationship between Scar and Mufasa.”
Aaron Pierre will voice Mufasa (James Earl Jones voiced him in both the animated original and Jon Favreau’s live-action remake), while Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen will return as Timon and Pumbaa, meanwhile John Kani is back to voice Rafiki.
New Disney movies: 2025
Snow White
Release date: March 21, 2025
West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler is set to star as Snow White in this live-action remake, while Gal Gadot is the Evil Queen. Andrew Burnap has been cast as the male lead – and that’s not the prince or huntsman, either, but a new original character.
Marc Webb directs – he previously helmed (500) Days of Summer and the Amazing Spider-Man movies – while Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the duo behind the music in La La Land, The Greatest Showman, and Dear Evan Hansen, are writing a set of brand new songs for the movie. Barbie and Lady Bird writer-director Greta Gerwig (alongside Erin Cressida Wilson) is penning the script.
Due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, the film has been delayed from March 2024 a full year to March 2025.
Elio
Release date: June 13, 2025
New Pixar film Elio sees the titular young boy (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) transported to space after making contact with aliens, where he becomes an ambassador for Earth in a major planetary gathering that’s an intergalactic version of the United Nations. Barbie star America Ferrera voices Elio’s mother, Olga, a decoder at a top-secret military organization.
The film has been delayed from its original 2024 release date to 2025.
Moana
Release date: June 27, 2025
A live-action Moana remake is on the way, with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson reprising his role as Maui in the coming-of-age tale of a Polynesian girl tasked with fulfilling her destiny.
“I’m deeply humbled and overcome with gratitude to bring the beautiful story of Moana to the live-action big screen,” Johnson said in a press release.
Not much else is known at this stage, though original Moana actor Auli’i Carvalho won’t be back. Instead, she’ll be part of the casting process as executive producer. Thomas Kail (best known for his theater work on Hamilton and In The Heights) is directing.
Tron: Ares
Release date: October 10, 2025
Thanks to a slip-up from new lead Jared Leto, we learnt early on that the third instalment in the Tron franchise would be called Tron: Ares, which is being helmed by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales director Joachim Rønning. Cameron Monaghan, Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith, Gillian Anderson, and Greta Lee co-star.
The script was penned by Jesse Wigutow and Jack Thorne and follows a computer program (the titular Ares) that crosses into the human world – other plot details are currently unknown. Leto will play Ares in human form. Production shut down amid the WGA writers’ strike and SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike, but filming kicked off again in January 2024.
Zootopia 2
Release date: November 26, 2025
Zootopia 2 is coming, as announced by Disney CEO Bob Iger in the company’s Q1 2023 earnings call. The original 2016 animated movie follows bunny police officer Judy Hops, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, who strikes up an unlikely friendship with con artist fox Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman. No casting information or plot details have been confirmed yet, but we do now have a release date, as announced in Disney’s Q1 2024 earnings call.
New Disney movies: 2026
Toy Story 5
Release date: June 19, 2026
A fifth Toy Story movie is in the works, despite 2019’s Toy Story 4 seeming like the end of the road for the adventures of Buzz, Woody, and co. The original voice of Buzz, Tim Allen, has confirmed that he’ll be back for the new movie. “See ya soon Woody, you are a sad strange little man and you have my pity. And off we go to a number 5! To infinity and beyond!” he wrote on Twitter. Tom Hanks will also reprise his beloved role of Woody.
That’s all we know for now, though, other than the fact that the movie’s release date.
Frozen 3
Release date: TBA 2026
A follow-up to 2019’s Frozen 2 is on the way. Josh Gad, who voices Olaf the snowman in the movies, confirmed he’d be back on Twitter. “Excited to head back… into the Unknown,” he wrote, quoting Elsa’s big song from the sequel. Idina Menzel, who voices Elsa, also confirmed she’d be back, tweeting: “Well, now they know! Time to let it go again, people!” No plot details or further casting updates have been released yet, but the movie now has a 2026 release window.
New Disney movies: Release dates TBA
Lilo & Stitch
Release date: TBA
A live-action remake of 2002’s Lilo & Stitch is in the works for Disney Plus, directed by Marcel the Shell With Shoes On helmer Dean Fleischer Camp. The original animated movie follows Lilo (voiced by Daveigh Chase), an eccentric six-year-old girl being raised in Hawaii by her older sister Nani (Tia Carrere) after their parents die in a car crash. Lilo adopts Stitch, the result of an illegal genetic experiment with the ability to cause unending chaos, thinking that he’s a dog, and let’s just say things don’t go too smoothly for the pair.
Naia Kealoha will play Lilo and Sydney Elizebeth Agudong will be Nani, with Kaipot Dudoit playing her love interest David. Zach Galifianakis will play Jumba, while Billy Magnussen is Pleakley. Courtney B. Vance is set to play Cobra Bubbles. Original Nani Tia Carrere will play new character Mrs. Kekoa, and Amy Hill (who voiced Mrs. Hasagawa) will play another new character named Tūtū. Chris Sanders, who co-wrote and co-directed the original movie, is back as the voice of Stitch.
In a recent interview with GamesRadar+, Magnussen spoke about the upcoming remake, expressing his excitement that he gets to play a part in it. He said: “I adored working with everyone in this. Rideback was the producing house making this film, and I did Aladdin with them. Again, it’s a story about connection, and a kid trying to find a friend, and all you can do is approach a project like that with love. I am so grateful and honored to be a part of that project.”
The Aristocats
Release date: TBA
The Aristocats is getting a live-action adaptation, with Peter Rabbit director Will Gluck and Onward scribe Keith Bunin writing the script. Not much is known about the movie just yet, but it’ll reportedly have a similar look to the live-action Lady and the Tramp Disney Plus movie. Per Deadline, Questlove will direct, executive produce, and oversee music.
Cruella 2
Release date: TBA
Cruella 2 is reportedly in the works. Not much is known about the sequel yet, though director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) and screenwriter Tony McNamara are thought to be returning. Considering the Cruella post-credits scene, it’s likely the sequel will bring us closer to the events of 101 Dalmatians – though that’s just speculation at the moment.
We can also expect Emma Stone back as the titular villain. “Hopefully sooner rather than later,” Stone told Variety when asked when the movie might start shooting. “There’s a work in progress kind of thing going on. We’ll see… She’s a blast, so we’ll see.”
Hercules
Release date: TBA
A live-action Hercules is coming soon. Aladdin helmer Guy Ritchie will direct and Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo are producing. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Wonder Woman 1984 scribe David Callaham has written the first draft of the script. Currently there is no news on cast.
The animated version of the film is a musical, but The Hollywood Reporter notes that it’s “unclear” if the live-action movie will keep the music.
“It will certainly pay homage to the original with a more modern spin on it,” Joe Russo told Total Film of the movie. “What Anthony and I love about the original is how funny and subversive it is. I think we try to embrace that sense of humor in the remake.”
Joe Russo also told Variety that the film will be “a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution,” and it has an unlikely influence. “There are questions about how you translate it as a musical,” Joe said. “Audiences today have been trained by TikTok, right? What is their expectation of what that musical looks like and feels like? That can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical.”
Pirates of the Caribbean reboot
Release date: TBA
Recently it has been confirmed that the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie will indeed be a reboot, as producer Jerry Bruckheimer set the record straight. He told ComicBook.com: “We’re gonna reboot Pirates, so that is easier to put together because you don’t have to wait for certain actors.”
The fate of the popular franchise had been uncertain for a while, with various developments and reports. Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick were originally brought in to write the script but departed sometime in early 2019. Since then, THR reported that Ted Elliott and The Last of Us series creator Craig Mazin have stepped in to replace the pair. Mazin later praised the “weird” script.
“[Elliott] wrote a fantastic script and the strike happened and everyone’s waiting around,” Mazin revealed to the L.A. Times of the project’s status.
Jack Sparrow actor Johnny Depp recently suggested he would never play the character again, though executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer said the actor’s future in the franchise “is yet to be decided.”
What we do know is that this reboot won’t be the long-reported Pirates movie starring Margot Robbie. That spin-off of the main series has been scrapped, according to Robbie. Arr-IP.
Though, confusingly enough, Bruckheimer has indicated the Robbie project is still alive, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “Oh God, they’re all hard. I think we’re getting very close on that one, too. We have a very good script. We developed two of them – the one with Margot Robbie and one with a younger cast. The Margot Robbie one needs a little more work. The younger cast one is close. Hopefully we’ll get both of them.”
Sister Act 3
Release date: TBA
Whoopi Goldberg is returning for Sister Act 3 for Disney Plus. Hallelujah! No other details are yet known aside from the fact that Regina Hicks and Karin Gist were hired to pen the script, whilst Tyler Perry would produce. It is unclear whether other actors will reprise their roles.
Three Men and a Baby
Release date: TBA
The ’80s comedy featuring Ted Danson, Tom Selleck, and Steve Guttenberg was a surprise hit. So much so, that Disney is bringing it back for a reboot. The premise, which saw three bachelors receive a surprise ‘package’ in the form of a baby is likely to stay, but the cast will be shaken up. Zac Efron is confirmed to star in the Disney Plus release with Maurice ‘Mo’ Marable directing.
Untitled Tower of Terror movie
Release date: TBA
Scarlett Johansson is set to star in this big-screen imagining of the Disney theme park ride Tower of Terror. Inside Out scribe and Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley is on board to write the screenplay, and Disney is reportedly hoping for a high-profile director (it has previously been stated that Taika Waititi would take it on). Plot details are unknown, but the ride is connected to The Twilight Zone, and revolves around a group of people climbing into an elevator at the Hollywood Tower Hotel, plummeting 13 stories, and vanishing after the hotel is struck by lightning.
Following Johansson’s Disney lawsuit, the movie is confirmed to still be in the works with the actor attached.
