The modern era of Disney movies in theaters represents a mix of wildly different brand strategies. Some movies exist to continue a successful franchise, while some carry the responsibility of reviving a dormant one. Others are tasked with introducing a new Disney story that can be expanded into future sequels and theme park rides as part of CEO Josh D’Amaro’s “One Disney” initiative. Across the board, the movies are meant to delight audiences around the world.
During a presentation at CinemaCon on April 16, 2026, Disney detailed an ambitious slate of new movies, including sequels, live-action remakes, and original stories. We have release dates for all of them, plus a few unannounced mystery projects. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including Disney World ticket price increases and Muppets being added to a classic Disney roller coaster.
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New Disney Movies Coming to Theaters
Looking at Disney’s movie release calendar, which we list in full below, it’s clear the company has several key priorities.
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Familiar franchises continue to play a role in Disney’s studio strategy. The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5, Avengers: Doomsday, and future Avatar films are all examples of Disney continuing to build upon film series that have entertained audiences for decades.
Chris Evans appeared at CinemaCon to hype up his reprisal of Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, in theaters December 18, marking his first return to the role since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Disney also seems to be identifying successful films that haven’t yet been turned into full-blown franchises, and attempting to see if lightning can strike twice. The Devil Wears Prada 2 and the sequel to Coco are examples of movies in this category.
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16 years after Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland opened Pandora’s box of live-action remakes, Disney continues to mine its animated library for more live-action adaptations, with Moana on deck for a retelling less than 10 years after the original.
Catherine Laga’aia stars in the titular role, joined by Dwayne Johnson as Maui, reprising his role from the animated movie. Both actors appeared at CinemaCon 2026 to discuss the film, coming to theaters July 10.
Disney is game to continue franchises that started outside of the Disney fold, too. The company will release Ice Age: Boiling Point on February 5, furthering a film series that began as a 20th Century Studios property before Disney acquired it. Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, and Ray Romano were all onstage at CinemaCon to celebrate their return as the voices of Ellie, Diego, and Manny, respectively.
Crucially, though, Disney shut down Blue Sky Studios, 20th Century’s animation division that created the original Ice Age films, in 2021. To put this in perspective, this would be like another company buying Disney and shutting down Pixar. 2027’s Ice Age installment will be produced by 20th Century Animation instead.
While aggressively leaning into familiar intellectual property, Disney also realizes the importance of original storytelling, arguably perhaps because without new stories, there can be no future franchises. Upcoming releases like Disney Animation’s Hexed, in theaters November 27, and Pixar’s Gatto, in theaters March 5, will introduce audiences to new characters they haven’t met before.
As revealed at CinemaCon, the main characters of Hexed will be a teenager with magical powers, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, and her mother, voiced by Rashida Jones.
In a different, in-between category altogether are new films adapted from books. These stories may be familiar to some of the audience, but will be fresh for others, and could contain franchise potential should they succeed.
The Dog Stars, in theaters August 28 and based on a novel by Peter Heller, is an example of this. Disney revealed images from The Dog Stars during CinemaCon 2026. This post-apocalyptic movie has a lot going for it, with Ridley Scott of Gladiator fame in the director’s chair and Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin as its stars.
Disney is no doubt looking to the recent success of Amazon/MGM’s Project Hail Mary, the Ryan Gosling-starring space film based on a novel by Andy Weir, and hoping for a similar win with The Dog Stars.
Below, we map out the full release calendar Disney detailed at CinemaCon 2026, plus a longer list of Disney movies planned through 2031.
Disney Maps Out Release Schedule for New Movies
Here’s the list of all the Disney movies releasing in theaters now through 2031 that have been announced so far. The list includes movies from all of the studio departments: Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and the broader Walt Disney Studios label.
2026 Disney Movies
The Devil Wears Prada 2 – May 1, 2026
The Mandalorian and Grogu – May 22, 2026
Toy Story 5 – June 19, 2026
Moana – July 10, 2026
Super Troopers 3 – August 7, 2026
The Dog Stars – August 28, 2026
Whalefall – October 16, 2026
Wild Horse Nine – November 6, 2026
Hexed – November 25, 2026
Avengers: Doomsday – December 18, 2026
Note that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters on July 31, 2026. Disney’s Marvel Studios co-produces live-action Spider-Man films with Sony. As such, it’s not part of Disney’s “official” calendar, but we’re including it here as a Disney movie nonetheless.
2027 Disney Movies
Ice Age: Boiling Point – February 5, 2027
Gatto – March 5, 2027
Star Wars: Starfighter – May 27, 2027
Bluey: The Movie – August 6, 2027
The Simpsons Movie 2 – September 3, 2027
Frozen III – November 24, 2027
Avengers: Secret Wars – December 17, 2027
2028 Disney Movies
Unannounced Disney Movie – February 18, 2028
Lilo & Stitch 2 – May 26, 2028
Incredibles 3 – June 16, 2028
Unannounced Marvel Movie – July 28, 2028
Unannounced Disney Movie – November 10, 2028
2029 Disney Movies
Unannounced Disney Movie – February 16, 2029
Unannounced Marvel Movie – May 4, 2029
Unannounced Disney Movie – March 9, 2029
Unannounced Disney Movie – May 25, 2029
Unannounced Walt Disney Animation Studios Movie – June 15, 2029
Unannounced Marvel Movie – July 13, 2029
Unannounced Disney Movie – August 3, 2029
Unannounced Disney Movie – October 5, 2029
Unannounced Disney Movie – November 9, 2029
Unannounced Pixar Movie – November 21, 2029
Avatar 4 – December 21, 2029
2031 Disney Movies
Avatar 5 – December 19, 2031
One highly anticipated movie that Disney has officially announced, but hasn’t assigned a release date to, is the live-action remake of Tangled. The movie will star Teagan Croft as Rapunzel, Milo Manheim as Flynn Rider, and Katherine Hahn as Mother Gothel. It’s possible that one of the release dates listed above could belong to Tangled.
Disney also hasn’t revealed the release date for Coco 2, though we suspect the film may belong to that Pixar slot of November 21, 2029. Coco 2 is the only announced Pixar project without a release date, and the 2029 date is the only unannounced Pixar spot on the calendar.
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