Kaitlyn Murphy is an undergraduate student at Pennsylvania State University studying journalism. Her passion is covering the entertainment industry, especially the latest film and television releases. Kaitlyn’s values align with The Hollywood Insider because she believes in providing in-depth coverage of the entertainment world instead of relying on gossip. Her dream is to one day report live from the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, but for now she can usually be found watching a Disney movie or a cozy romantic comedy.
May 16, 2024
Table of Contents
It’s no secret that sequel films typically send people running to movie theater seats. They’re a safe bet for a studio like Walt Disney — if audiences loved an original film, they’re sure to enjoy a new adventure with the same charismatic characters and the addition of some new ones (preferably one that can be turned into profitable theme park plushies). For better or worse, Disney has boarded the sequel train and doesn’t seem to be hopping off anytime soon. For the next solid three years, the studio has multiple sequel projects slated to drop — ranging anywhere between the second and fifth film of a franchise. While it can be nice to revisit fan-favorite universes like ‘Avatar’ and ‘Toy Story,’ there’s also a major demand for Disney to return to their original storytelling roots. Walt Disney himself was incredibly opposed to sequels, saying he always had to “move on to new things.”
Mr. Disney’s feelings aside, there are undeniably positives for studios to release sequel films. In many cases, there is truly more story left to be told. Imagine if ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ ended without offering full resolutions for the characters. There’s not as much evidence on the animated side, with laughable sequels like ‘Mulan II,’ ‘Aladdin and the King of Thieves’ and ‘The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride’ not offering any compelling storytelling or visuals. After those films and many more failed to live up to their classic predecessors, it’s almost shocking that Disney is still attempting sequel films. Here’s what Walt Disney Studios release slate for sequels looks like for the next three years (subject to change).
‘Inside Out’ is a prime example of a story with more wiggle room for continuation. In ‘Inside Out 2,’ Riley is no longer the young girl audiences saw in the first film, but one who’s reached the dreaded teenage years. As she goes through changes in her life, new emotions like Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) show themselves and threaten to take over the Headquarters in her mind, typically run by Joy (Amy Poehler). The rest of the story is being held fairly under wraps, but the trailer and foundation seem strong for ‘Inside Out 2’ to be a promising sequel.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ – July 26, 2024
On the Marvel side of Walt Disney Studios, the third installment of the ‘Deadpool’ series comes out this July, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as Deadpool and Wolverine. Inserting Deadpool into the MCU will surely be a wild ride, since he can now make references to the Avengers, Spider-Man and other characters that weren’t a part of his canon before. The only true plot details that have been released through the trailer are that Deadpool recruits Wolverine to help him fight a common enemy, even though the two couldn’t be further opposites. If anything, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ will be an entertaining action-fest for fans of the characters.
Last February, Disney shocked fans by announcing a ‘Moana’ sequel that was set to release this year. The film will be set three years after Moana’s (Auli’i Cravalho) first voyage away from home, and she’ll be once again joined by her demigod companion, Maui (Dwayne Johnson). The only plot description so far from Disney is that the duo will “journey to the far seas of Oceania into dangerous, long-lost waters” in a brand new adventure. Songwriting duo of ‘The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical’ Abigail Barlowe and Emily Bear are lined up to replace Lin Manuel-Miranda for the music.
‘Can I Go Home Now?’ will be having its market premiere at the Marche du Film on Tuesday 21st May 2024 precisely 1530h (3:30 pm) at Palais F. This is strictly for distributors, sales agents and festival programmers. Please write to hello@edgymedia.eu for passes.
‘Captain America: Brave New World’ – Feb. 14, 2024
14 years after ‘Tron: Legacy’ and 42 years after the original ‘Tron’ film, audiences will get to travel back to the Grid once more in ‘Tron: Ares.’ The project remained in limbo until it was officially announced by Disney earlier this year. Jared Leto, Evan Peters, Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith have been announced as the leading cast members of ‘Ares,’ although their roles are mainly undisclosed. A first look at the film will likely be released in August at Disney’s D23 convention.
‘Zootopia 2’ – 2025
Disney confirmed in February that almost a decade after the first film’s release, ‘Zootopia 2’ is in production. Judy Hopps voice actor Ginnifer Goodwin seemingly announced her return in an Instagram post, but no other cast members have been released yet. It’s expected that Jason Bateman will return as the clever fox Nick Wilde, and possibly Idris Elba as Chief Bogo. ‘Zootopia’ ended with Nick graduating from the police academy and becoming Judy’s official partner, so there are many directions to go story-wise with that ending.
‘Avatar 3’ is coming along at a much quicker pace than its predecessor, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ which released 13 years after the original. James Cameron will return to direct, and announced the film is already past the post-production phase, and Quaritch actor Stephen Lang posted a BTS photo from reshoots on Instagram back in January. ‘Avatar 3’ will introduce a Na’vi fire tribe, and likely produce new threats to the safety of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family.
‘Toy Story 5’ – 2026
Even though ‘Toy Story 4’ seemingly served up closure for Andy’s toys, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced a new ‘Toy Story’ film will hit theaters in 2026. Tim Allen confirmed on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ that the sequel was happening, and that Iger reached out to both Allen and Tom Hanks about reprising their roles as Buzz Lightyear and Woody, respectively.
‘Frozen III’ – 2026
Both ‘Frozen’ films are in the top five highest grossing animated films of all time, so it’s no surprise that Disney wants to test its luck with a third. ‘Frozen III’ appears to be currently in the early stages of development, but it’s unexpected that anything major will come out about the film before the D23 convention.
Click here to read The Hollywood Insider’s CEO Pritan Ambroase’s love letter to Cinema, TV and Media. An excerpt from the love letter: The Hollywood Insider’s CEO/editor-in-chief Pritan Ambroase affirms, “We have the space and time for all your stories, no matter who/what/where you are. Media/Cinema/TV have a responsibility to better the world and The Hollywood Insider will continue to do so. Talent, diversity and authenticity matter in Cinema/TV, media and storytelling. In fact, I reckon that we should announce “talent-diversity-authenticity-storytelling-Cinema-Oscars-Academy-Awards” as synonyms of each other. We show respect to talent and stories regardless of their skin color, race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, etc., thus allowing authenticity into this system just by something as simple as accepting and showing respect to the human species’ factual diversity. We become greater just by respecting and appreciating talent in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Award winners, which includes nominees, must be chosen on the greatness of their talent ALONE.
I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
Kaitlyn Murphy is an undergraduate student at Pennsylvania State University studying journalism. Her passion is covering the entertainment industry, especially the latest film and television releases. Kaitlyn's values align with The Hollywood Insider because she believes in providing in-depth coverage of the entertainment world instead of relying on gossip. Her dream is to one day report live from the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, but for now she can usually be found watching a Disney movie or a cozy romantic comedy.
Kaitlyn Murphy is an undergraduate student at Pennsylvania State University studying journalism. Her passion is covering the entertainment industry, especially the latest film and television releases. Kaitlyn’s values align with The Hollywood Insider because she believes in providing in-depth coverage of the entertainment world instead of relying on gossip. Her dream is to one day report live from the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, but for now she can usually be found watching a Disney movie or a cozy romantic comedy.
Kaitlyn Murphy is an undergraduate student at Pennsylvania State University studying journalism. Her passion is covering the entertainment industry, especially the latest film and television releases. Kaitlyn’s values align with The Hollywood Insider because she believes in providing in-depth coverage of the entertainment world instead of relying on gossip. Her dream is to one day report live from the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, but for now she can usually be found watching a Disney movie or a cozy romantic comedy.
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