Disney’s 100th anniversary may be over, but the studio and its sister company Pixar still have a handful of films coming out in 2024 and beyond. Aside from films by Marvel, 20th Century Fox, and other studios owned by Disney, the release calendar for Disney Studios and Pixar Animation Studios films for this year is small thanks to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes putting production on a lot of movies on hold and subsequently pushing the release dates for some of them back by a year or so.
With the strikes now in our rearview mirror, we rounded up all the films that have a firm release date and that are still in the works from Disney and Pixar. You may see a few familiar films from the latter studio coming to theaters for the first time to fill the void on the release calendar.
Disney and Pixar Movies: Upcoming Release Dates
Whether they release in theaters or on Disney+, here’s a look at the Disney and Pixar movies coming from now through 2025 and beyond.
- Soul (January 12, 2024) - Re-Release
- Turning Red (February 9, 2024) - Re-Release
- Luca (March 22, 2024) - Re-Release
- Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds (Spring 2024)
- Inside Out 2 (June 14, 2024)
- Mufasa: The Lion King (December 20, 2024)
- Snow White [live-action remake] (March 21, 2025)
- Elio (June 13, 2025)
- Moana [live-action remake] (June 27th 2025)
- Tron: Ares (2025)
- Frozen 3 (2025)
- Zootopia 2 (Date TBD)
- Bambi [live-action remake] (Date TBD)
- Hercules [live-action remake] (Date TBD)
- Toy Story 5 (Date TBD)
Soul (Theatrical Re-Release)
Joe Gardener is a middle school band teacher in New York City who wants to play in a jazz band. Once he gets his big break to play at the city’s biggest jazz club, he falls down a sewer and wakes up as a disembodied soul in a cosmic realm where souls get their quirks, personalities, and interests before they’re sent to Earth. There, he helps a pre-born soul named 22 prepare her for life on Earth and use her completed Earth badge to return to his body — if he can change her cynical outlook about Earth, of course.
You might be wondering, “What’s Soul doing on this list?” Soul is one of three Pixar movies being shown in theaters for the first time ever after being released exclusively on Disney+ on December 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read our review of Soul or check out our guide to Soul showtimes.
Turning Red (Theatrical Re-Release)
Being a teenage girl is tough. For 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl Mei Lee, being a teenager is even tougher when she’s turns into a giant red panda whenever she experiences strong emotions due to a hereditary curse that only affects the women in her family, including her strict and overprotective mother Ming, who has difficulty accepting the fact that her daughter is becoming independent of her and hanging with her friends, who work towards securing tickets for a 4*TOWN concert.
Turning Red is based on director Domee Shi’s experience growing up in Toronto in the 2000s, and is considered an allegory for puberty in girls. The film was also released exclusively on Disney+ on February 11, 2022, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Read our review of Turning Red.
Luca (Theatrical Re-Release)
In Luca, a young teenage sea monster with the ability to assume human form while on land spends the extraordinary summer of 1959 exploring Portorosso, a beautiful seaside town on the Italian Riviera, with his new best friend and fellow sea monster Alberto. Together with their new friend Giulia, they have fun eating gelato, pasta, and riding Vespas around town — all while trying to keep their sea monster identities a secret.
The character design in Luca takes after the 2011 Pixar short La Luna, which combines hand-drawn and stop-motion animation with Studio Ghibli’s animation style. Luca was originally released exclusively on Disney+ on June 18, 2021, in response to restrictions on movie theaters brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read our review of Luca.
Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds
Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds goes behind the scenes of one of the most revered video game developers in the industry, Hideo Kojima, launching his namesake independent studio, Kojima Productions. The documentary features interviews with Guillermo del Toro, Grimes, Norman Reedus, George Miller, Chvrches, and other creators as they talk about working with Kojima on Death Stranding, and the power video games has as a medium.
While not exactly a Disney documentary in name, it still espouses Disney’s values regarding creativity. Kojima Productions struck a deal with Disney on December 22, 2023 to release Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds exclusively on Disney+ some time this spring following its June 2023 debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. More details regarding its release date are expected to be revealed soon.
Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 brings back the original gang of Riley’s emotions — Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust — as they celebrate Riley becoming a teenager and all the things that come with adolescence. What they didn’t expect is a group of new emotions moving into Riley’s brain with them, including Anxiety, who they aren’t sure how to deal with her arrival — and the arrival of other emotions coming to shake up Riley’s life.
Inside Out 2 was announced at the D23 Studio Showcase in 2022, with Amy Poehler reprising her role of Joy, along with Phyllis Smith as Sadness and Lewis Black as Anger, while Tony Hale and Liza Lapira fill in for Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling as Fear and Disgust, respectively. Maya Hawke is confirmed to be the voice of Anxiety, while the voices of the other four new emotions are unknown.
See everything we know about Inside Out 2.
Mufasa: The Lion King
As told by Rafiki to Kiara, Simba and Nala’s daughter, the prequel to the 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King tells the story of how her grandfather Mufasa became king of the Pride Lands. The story will also reveal how Mufasa and Scar went from loving brothers to bitter enemies, while Timon and Pumbaa sprinkle in colorful commentary.
Mufasa: The Lion King will mark Kiara’s second appearance in a feature film since the direct-to-video sequel The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, despite also making an appearance in the Disney Channel/Disney Junior animated series The Lion Guard. Aaron Pierre and Kevin Harrison, Jr. will voice young Mufasa and Scar, respectively, while Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner will reprise their voice roles of Pumbaa and Timon.
Snow White (Live-Action)
Details about the live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves are scarce, but what we do know is that Rachel Zegler will play the leading Disney Princess, Gal Gadot is cast as the Evil Queen, and Andrew Burnap will play a new character named Jonathan, replacing Prince Charming. Greta Gerwing and Erin Cressida Wilson wrote the screenplay, and Marc Webb is the director. The film was originally scheduled to release this year, but Disney pushed its release date back to March 21, 2025 due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes.
The casting caused controversy among audiences because Zegler, who is part-Colombian, does not fit Snow White’s profile of having “skin as white as snow,” and because she made comments about making the character stronger than she was in the original — both issues Zegler addressed. In October 2023, Disney released a first look image of Snow White and the dwarves, who are rendered in CGI to resemble their appearances in the original film.
Elio
Elio is about an 11-year-old boy who gets abducted by aliens after they mistake him for Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe. After he is beamed up to the Communiverse, an intergalactic council comprising representatives from other planets for contacting them by mistake, Elio has to form bonds with eccentric alien life forms and survive a series of formidable trials in order to hopefully get sent back home.
Elio was originally scheduled to be released on March 1, 2024, but because production of the film paused due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes, Pixar pushed the release date back to June 13, 2025.
Moana (Live Action)
Just like the original 2016 CGI animated film, the plot for the live-action remake of Moana will revolve around a young girl who is chosen by the ocean to reunite an ancient relic with the Polynesian goddess Te Fiti with the help of the exiled demigod named Maui. This puts her on a mission to not only save the ocean, but also save her island of Motonui, which has been afflicted with blight as a result of the volcanic demon Te Kā’s rampage.
The live-action remake for Moana was announced on April 3, 2023, with Dwayne Johnson slated to produce the film and reprise his role of Maui, who was inspired by his grandfather Peter Maivia, a former WWE star. Auli'i Cravalho won’t reprise her role as the titular heroine; however, she’ll serve as executive producer.
Tron: Ares
Tron: Ares is set to be a reboot of the Tron film franchise, not a direct sequel to Tron: Legacy. Jared Leto has been cast as the titular character Ares, a computer AI program who embarks on a journey from the digital dimension to the human world.
Tron: Ares was originally announced to be a sequel to Tron: Legacy as Tron 3 in 2010, but Disney cancelled it in 2015 following the box office failure of Tomorrowland. The film’s development restarted in 2017, but had changed directors ever since, from Garth Davis to Joachim Rønning. Production started in December 2023, and the film is slated to release in theaters sometime in 2025.
Frozen 3
Bob Iger announced that Frozen 3 was in the works on February 8, 2023, but details about the sequel have since been scarce. However, Idina Menzel and Josh Gad confirmed they will reprise their roles as Elsa and Olaf, respectively. Kristen Bell hasn’t said whether she’ll return as the plucky heroine Anna.
While story details about Frozen 3 haven’t been officially revealed, it is expected to pick up where Frozen 2 left off, with Anna becoming queen of Arendelle after Elsa abdicated the throne to become the protector of the Enchanted Forest after learning she’s the fifth spirit bridging the gap between people and magic. As for the release date, it might come out in late 2025.
See everything we know about Frozen 3.
Zootopia 2
Zootopia 2 was also announced by Iger last February to be in development alongside Frozen 3 and Toy Story 5. Details about the sequel to the film about a city populated by anthropomorphic animals in climate-diverse landscapes are scarce, but they’ll be revealed at a later date.
As for what would happen in the film, a few of the actors shared some ideas. According to CinemaBlend, Ginnifer Goodwin said she would like to see a role reversal between her character Judy Hopps and Jason Bateman’s Nick Wilde, saying that because they’re now a cop team, “I would also like to see Nick [Wilde] have to be the one to convince Judy [Hopps] that the world is worth fighting for.” Bateman, on the other hand, said the plot should be about “The two of us, kicking ass out there. Cleaning up the streets. We’re a couple of new cops out there. So, bad guys, be warned.”
Bambi (Live Action)
The live-action remake of Bambi was confirmed to be in development in January 2020 following the success of Guy Ritchie’s take on Aladdin. The producers aim to use photorealistic CGI for the animal characters just as they did for The Lion King remake and, according to former screenwriter Lindsey Anderson Beer, tone down Bambi’s mother’s death to make it less traumatic for today’s kids than the original 1942 animated film. “Not to spoil the plot, but there’s a treatment of the mom dying that I think some kids, some parents these days are more sensitive about than they were in the past,” she told Collider last year. “And I think that’s one of the reasons that they haven’t shown it to their children.”
Sarah Polley, Academy Award-winning director of Women Talking, is reportedly set to direct the live-action Bambi. No one has been cast as the titular deer or any of his friends yet.
Hercules (Live Action)
Details surrounding the live-action adaptation of Hercules, which was announced in June 2022, have been scarce since the SAG-AFTRA strikes save for a few tidbits. The movie will be directed by Guy Ritchie, making it the second Disney live-action remake on his resume after Aladdin, and it will be produced by the studio run by Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo. Danny DeVito may reprise his role as the wise satyr Phil, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
Joe Russo explained to Variety that they’ll use TikTok as inspiration for putting a modern spin on the Disney Renaissance classic. “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,” he said.
Toy Story 5
Disney CEO Bob Iger surprised Toy Story fans on February 8, 2023 with the news that Pixar is now producing Toy Story 5. Although it seemed like Toy Story 4 wrapped up the series for good as Woody and Buzz Lightyear went their separate ways, it appears as if the story will continue. Though the news received a warm welcome by many fans of Pixar movies, others questioned the necessity of a fifth Toy Story film.
We don't have any concrete details about a Toy Story 5 release date, but assuming it follows the same development schedule as its predecessors, we likely won’t see it until anywhere between 2026 and 2028. That’ll be about seven to nine years from the last film.
See everything we know about Toy Story 5.
More Upcoming Disney Movies
Although our list only includes films beind created by Disney and Pixar, the fact of the matter is that Disney owns a lot of companies. If you're looking for more upcoming films under the Disney umbrella, here's a quick look at what to expect in 2024 and beyond from Star Wars, Marvel, and 20th Century Fox.
Upcoming Star Wars Movies
A lot of the upcoming Star Wars projects are actually TV shows, but there a few upcoming movies worth noting. Unfortunately, we don't exactly have release dates for any of these just yet. There's the upcoming Taika Waititi Star Wars movie as well as the recently announced Mandalorian and Grogu film, but we don't yet know when those will happen. Check out our full list of upcoming Star Wars projects for more info.
Upcoming Marvel Movies
Marvel has had a steady stream of movies arriving year after year, but 2024 is looking a bit sparse when it comes to new films. That being said, you can expect Deadpool 3 to arrive this year and even more movies to arrive in 2025. Check out our full list of upcoming Marvel projects for more info.
Upcoming 20th Century Fox Movies
20th Century Fox Studios has quite a few more movies expected to come out in 2024 compared to the rest of the entertainment companies Disney owns. Two of perhaps the most promintent films arriving this year are Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Aliens: Romulus. You can check out this full list of 20th Century Studios movies for more info.
Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.
