You can’t talk Disney without bringing up what they are known for, animation. Walt Disney Animation Studios has had its struggles, especially during the pandemic era but are slowly coming back to form. Pixar Animation Studios have finally found their footing with recent hits including Elemental, Inside Out 2, and Toy Story 5. Both animation studios hope to keep their success alive with a string of new films.
Let’s see what the studios have to offer during their panel at D23 in a couple of weeks and what we can expect to see and hear, as well as my big swing for the fences prediction.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Hexed is coming out in November and with originals struggling to find their footing at the box office i.e. Strange World and Wish, the studio is going to give us the goods with this one. Expect a new poster, trailer, and exclusive sneak peek with stars Hailee Steinfeld and Rashida Jones in attendance. Disney really wants this to succeed and this will get its time in the spotlight during the expo.
We are heading back to Arendelle as the studio has plans to share a first look at Frozen 3. While I do know their is expected to be some footage shown, it is my understanding that it will be exclusively for those in attendance. I’m sure a teaser poster will also be revealed. As for Frozen 4, which is expected to release in 2028, likely won’t be mentioned in to much detail as the film has yet to begin its production with Frozen 3 still in the middle of their production.
Walt Disney Animation Studios is also expected to announce a couple new projects, one being an all-new original and the other a sequel, which I believe is likely Moana 3 but a few years ago I was told Disney really wanted to revisit the world Encanto.
Pixar
Pixar’s next movie is an original, Gatto, which comes out in March and Pixar plans to have a full trailer, a poster, and additional cast announcements ready during the panel.
I do not expect Pixar into detail about all their movies, as I imagine they will wait once D23 2028 rolls around. That said, the recent Pixar sequels Inside Out 2 and Toy Story 5 both grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, so it is not shocking the studio already has three sequels lined up.
Incredibles 3 will be talked about and those in attendance will get some sort of early peek at the film and despite what producer Brad Bird recently said in an interview, I fully expect the big reveal to be that the character have aged up for their next adventure.
Films That Could Quickly Be Highlighted
The studio will quickly highlight Coco 2, Ono Ghost Market, Monsters Inc. 3, and their new musical from Domee Shi (Turning Red). Do not expect more from these projects as they are all in very early development.
Swing-For-The-Fences Prediction
Disney announces a 2D animated feature is officially in development at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Fans have been asking Disney to return to theatrical 2D animation for over a decade. Creatives at the studio have always stated they would like to go back to the classic animation while innovating with new animation styles think the recent SpiderVerse movies. An announcement like this would really bring the house down for amount of Disney fans that will be in attendance. Let me end it with this, I was told Disney has plans for a 2D movie on the big screen again and more recently I was told it would be a Mickey feature, so let’s wait and see.
Animation fans won’t have to wait long to see what the two iconic studios bring to the event as the D23 Expo kicks off on August 14. Follow along in the coming days for predictions on Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm.
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