Disney Investor Day 2020 Announcements and Discussion

While I am not thrilled that a huge mega-corporation like Disney is announcing all of the news I am interested in as a way to reassure their benefactors that they will be making lots of money, I have chosen to view this as a wealthy patron of the arts talking about where they have spread their wealth rather than a greedy factory foreman talking about the products that they are churning out.  That said, if you are a fan of the Disney owned properties like Marvel and Star Wars, there was a lot of announcements, and here is a list of what you can anticipate for the next few years, not just the previously covered Fantastic news.  I hadn’t found a nice, easy to read list, so I figured I’d compile one, and throw in my own commentary.  Also, there’s a 90 second clip of Wonder Woman’s directory Patty Jenkins announcing one of the projects that I felt was best enjoyed without a setup, so watch that before reading more.  Please feel free to comment and add any more details, refute my statements, and/or join in my speculations.

Marvel

I think it is interesting that we are really only talking about Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, either for theater release or for Disney+, but if you were hoping to hear about their comic books, video games, or anything for any other medium, the shareholders wouldn’t be interested.

Disney+

  • WandaVision arrives January 15, 2021. A second trailer was released.
  • The Falcon and The Winter Soldier arrives shortly afterwards on March 19, 2021.  A First Look Trailer was released.
  • Loki gets his own series, which appears to turn him into a time cop, and also is the most surprising excitement I saw in the news.  Here is his trailer, with his show expected May 2021.
  • What If…? hopes to draw you into some animated offerings, giving us a First Look before the Summer 2021 release.  (Was I the only one who expected the second, third, and fourth words in the trailer to be “The Finale Frontier?”)
  • Ms. Marvel, the Kamala Khan one, gets a series in late 2021, and we get a trailer staring Iman Vellani.  Her IMDB entry is so empty, this is her only character on it.
  • Hawkeye gives us Jeremy Renner from the movies and the younger female Hawkeye being played by Hailee Steinfeld (from Bumblebee) in late 2021.  I can’t find a reference to it here, but I did hear that this would be drawing from the recent Fraction/Aja run in the comics.
  • She-Hulk will be a comedy where Orphan Black herself, Tatiana Maslany plays Jennifer Walters.  The Hulk will appear, as will Tim Roth from the largely ignored 2008 movie.  This show wasn’t given any release date.  I think that if they want to lean into the comedic side of the character, that means we are going to be drawing from Spider-Verse comic scribe Dan Slott, which would make me very happy.
  • Moon Knight was discussed, but very little was said.  Elsewhere, do do know that Pope Dameron/Apocalypse himself Oscar Isaac will take on the psychologically unwell lead role.
  • Secret Invasion was equally empty of information, other than being a crossover series featuring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn as Fury and Talos.  I expect this will be a Defenders style cross-over series.
  • Ironheart is also getting a series, staring Dominique Thorne in the title role.
  • Armor Wars seems to be an attempt at an Iron Man series, but since Robert Downey Jr. wouldn’t be available for a TV show, Don Cheadle as Rhodey gets to take the lead.   It seems they plan to follow the comic story for this series.
  • I Am Groot is a series of shorts.  It doesn’t say it’s animated anywhere, but the logo makes me think this is something for the kids.
  • Blade is happening, staring Cottonmouth.

Feature Films

  • Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will be a horror themed movie directed by Sam Raimi (of Evil Dead/Spider-Man fame).  It will introduce America Chavez played by Xochitl Gomez, and features the return of Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams,  Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Elizabeth Olsen, all playing who you would expect.
  • Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings opens July 9, 2021.  The cast list was given, and reminds me of the cast of Crazy Rich Asians.  Names I recognized were Awkwafina, Emperor Georgiou, and the Daily Show’s Ronny Chieng.
  • Captain Marvel 2 brings Ms. Marvel from the TV show and a fully grown version of Monica Rambeau from WandaVision to join Brie Larson.  It’s directed by relatively fresh director Nia DaCosta.  I hope they give it a better name before it open November 11, 2022.
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is still happening,  but with it being so far away in 2023, Disney is also going to make The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special for 2022.  Between this and the LEGO Star Wars one, anyone thing that Disney is trying to cash in on the Star Wars Holiday Special any way they can without having to actually put that out?
  • Thor: Love and Thunder looks to use Batman himself as Gorr the God Butcher from Jason Aaron’s Mighty Thor run.  Returning director Taika Waititi also expects to give us Jane Foster as Thor, which we already know that Queen Amidala will be playing.  This is expected May 6, 2022.
  • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is our third Ant-Man movie, with Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang joining her ageless “father” and the heros of the previous movies, and this will feature Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror.  This is expected in 2022.
  • Black Panther 2 is expected on July 8th, 2022.  Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, who was behind Black Panther.  Disney has firmly stated they will not recast the late Chadwick Boseman, leading to wild specuilation that Shuri will become the new Black Panter.
  • Fantastic Four will be joining the MCU, directed by Spidey director Jon Watts.

Star Wars

Technically, this entry is for Lucasfilms and not Star Wars, but I think the Bureaucrats really know why the studio was purchased, and the items not actually set long ago in a galaxy far away are included here.

Disney+

  • The Mandalorian was a hit, and is going to keep going with season three returning for 2021’s holiday season.
  • Ahsoka will follow Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano from her Clone Wars/Rebels character.  This is planned to be a limited series, so we may only get a small run.
  • Rangers Of The New Republic will also spin out of The Mandalorian, showing us the government we lose in The Force Awakens.
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi will give us back Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen as Old Ben and Darth Vader.  I am unsure how we will see Darth Vader as Hayden Christensen, given that Revenge of the Sith shows us pretty much his entire timeline after becoming a sith lord and before losing the high ground and becoming a mask voiced by James Earl Jones.
  • Andor was released with a Sizzle reel, following Cassian Andor from Rogue One.  The show is coming in 2022.
  • The Acolyte will be set 200 years before The Phantom Menace, in the High Republic.  Leslye Headland who wrote Russian Doll will be the show runner, and we may get this as early as early 2021.
  • The Bad Batch is an animated spin-off of The Clone Wars, and also received a Sizzle reel and a 2021 release date.
  • Lando will follow everyone’s favorite pansexual cape wearer, as told by Justin Simien, but doesn’t tell us anything else.  Do we get young Lando, old Lando, or possibly both with a split narrative?
  • Star Wars: Visions is a What If…? vignette series made in anime style.
  • A Droid Story will follow the galaxies best droid duo R2-D2 and C-3PO, in what might be an animated series.
  • Willow gets a series gets a new show set decades after the movie, directed by a Crazy Rich Asian, and due in 2022.  It will star Warwick Davis, from Star Wars, Labyrinth, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and even Hitchhiker’s Guide.  (I want to see Warwick get a role in Star Trek so he can get a geek version of an EGOT.)

Feature Length Movies

  • Rogue Squadron, from the clip in the intro, will be Patty Jenkins tale of space dog fights, which is targeted for 2023’s holidays.
  • Something directed by Taika Waititi is also in the works, but that’s all we know about that one.
  • Indiana Jones 5 is supposedly the last installment, and will feature the original star.

Dinsey/Pixar

These aren’t quiet as relevant to the site, but there were a few other interesting announcements.

Disney+

  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians gets a show.
  • Beauty and the Beast gets a show with Gaston and Olaf.
  • Swiss Family Robinson gets another reimagined show.
  • Baymax, Zootopia+, Tiana, and Moana, as well as Iwájú, are all new animated shows, being pretty much exactly hwat you expect from the titles.
  • Win or Lose, a Pixar animated series.
  • Cars has a new series following Lightning McQueen and Mater on a road trip.

FX/Hulu

  • American Horror Stories continues American Horror Story sometime in 2021 on FX.
  • Y: The Last Man based on the comic.
  • Alien gets a series run by Legion’s Noah Hawley, and that’s pretty much all we know.
  • The Dropout stars Kate McKinnon as a college drop out who starts a tech company.
  • Handmaiden’s Tale gets another season.
  • Reservation Dogs is Taika Waititi (again) set to write, executive produce and direct a series about four teenagers in a Native American housing project in Oklahoma.
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Ice Age, Adventures of Buck Wild, starring Simon Pegg, and Night at the Museum get animnated shows from what used to be FOX television.

Feature Length Movies

  • Raya and the Last Dragon will debut on Disney+ and in theaters in March 2021.
  • Lightyear will be an animated prequel staring Captain America himself as Buzz in the title role in 2022.
  • Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers is getting rebooted with Spider-Ham and Lonley Island in spring 2022.  It’s set to be “live action”.
  • Pinocchio gets a live action reboot, with Tom Hanks as Geppetto.
  • Peter Pan & Wendy also gets re-re-redone, with Jude Law as Captain Hook.
  • Hocus Pocus 2, a sequel to the 1993 Halloween classic. Adam Shankman will direct.
  • Three Men and a Baby is being rebooted with Zac Efron
  • Cheaper by the Dozen is getting rebooted with Kenya Barris and Gabrielle Union.
  • Sister Act is getting a third act, starring Guinan herself and produced by Madea.
  • Disenchanted is a sequel to Enchanted, staring Lois Lane.
  • Jungle Cruise staring the Rock is coming out, turning another ride at the parks into a movie for 2021.
  • Cruella, which gives us the dalmation hungry villain’s origin, staring Gwen Stacy comes out in 2021.
  • A prequel to The Lion King is being made.
  • The Little Mermaid gets its live action release, eventually.  I didn’t realize it but Hamilton is doing the movie and Lafayette/Jefferson is in this.
  • Encanto is a musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda for theaters in November 2021.
  • Turning Red is a Pixar film.
  • Soul is a Pixar film with a short named Burrow on December 25, 2020.
  • Dug Days is a spin-off about the dog from Up for Fall 2021.

 

 

Did I miss anything?