Disney’s Investor Day: Marvel, Star Wars, and More Live Recap

On Thursday at 4:30pm ET/1:30pm PT, Disney is playing host to its annual Investor Day event. This year’s event is getting a special emphasis, as Disney has faced unexpected adversity this year in the face of a global pandemic which has forced its theme parks to close, movie theaters to stop showing movies, and productions to halt on its Disney+ shows. As the world looks to emerge from a difficult year, Disney and all of its subsidiary brands will be on display Thursday with a preview of what’s to come in an effort to ensure its investors that there is a bright future. Of course, this means the fans will likely come away from it with insight of the future.

Disney is expected to push Disney+ heavily during the event, emphasizing its streaming service which got of to a booming start with subscription numbers in its freshman year. Marvel and Star Wars content will likely be at the forefront of titles to be included in announcements and promises as a means to assure confidence in investors. Pixar, ESPN, Hulu, Disney theme parks, other original programming, and more will be touched on during the event.

Throughout Thursday’s Disney Investor Day event, ComicBook.com will have a live recap for those unable to attend or listen to the event. This article will be updated live, starting at 4:30pm ET on Thursday. Be sure to bookmark it and send it to friends who need to keep up! The fastest updates in the west, right here.

Start – 4:35pm ET

The virtual event start with Lowell Singer welcoming everyone to the Investor Day. “With today’ Investor Day, we aree so excited to explain why we are so excited for our direct to consumer opportunity.” Singer offered a breakdown of the schedule and promised an exciting slate of footage looking at the future of Disney content. He tossed the event to Disney CEO Bob Chapek. 

“While I wish we could be together for this, I think you’ll find the presentation we have you to be truly spectacular,” Chapek said. He highlights Disney+’s success in its first year. The “DTC” business model is a priority. “Given that story telling is at the heart of eveerything we do at Disney, we’ree incredibly proud of how our stories ave been embraced by people around the world,” he explains. “More than 1 billion people have identified themselves as true fans with deep connections to our brands.” Disney+ has 86.8 million subscribers. 

Chapek explains how curiosity leads the company down new paths “with smart, bold risks and strategic investments” in their future.” Chapek highlights avengers: Endgame as the biggest movie of all time. He is excited to offer a preview of what Marvel has coming.  

Direct to Consumer

Kareem Daniel takes the stage. He is running through Disney’s plan to expand direct to consumer business. They are using insights from subscribers to learn how to engage with their audience. He emphasizes the value of theaters and other distribution before placing some of the products on direct to consumer services. 10 Marvel shows, 10 Star Wars shows, and 15 Disney & Pixar original shows, and 15 Disney & Pixar original films coming in the next few years.

Raya and The Last Dragon will go theaters and to Disney+ on the same say in March of 2021. Daniel hands the stage over.

A new report indicates that Disney as met its performance goals for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. 86.8 million Disney+ subscribers, 38.8 million Hulu subscribers, and 11.5 million ESPN+ subscribers. These results have bolstered the aspirations from those programming the streaming services. Disney+ will soon launch across Eastern Europe, South Korea, and Hong Kong, among other places. 

Michael Paul, President of Disney+ And ESPN+ thanks Rebecca for the hand off. He highlights the amplified reach and subscriber engagement. “I’m excited to announce today our new agreement with Comcast,” he explains. Disney+ and ESPN+ will be available on Xfinity X1. He also highlights Fortnite teaming up with Disney+ to reach Fortnite players.

Star will allow mature content like Atlanta, Die Hard, Aliens, and Kingsman to be accessed in international markets. Star+ will do the same as an independent service, with sports included, in Latin America. The attention shifts to Hulu, its successes, and areas of growth in Hulu Originals efforts. Hulu will premiere titles by 20th Century Studios and Searchlight. Hulu will soon have ESPN+ accessible through its app. ESPN+ has tripled its subscribers in a year.

ESPN+ has plans to expand wit more original programming, like Season 2 of Peyton’s Places and a talk show with Stephen A. Smith.

10-minute break before Bob Iger previews future content on a creative front.

developing…

Hulu & FX

Bob Iger takes the stage. He explains the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. “Fast forward and in just a year, we’ve established ourselves as one of the true leaders in the direct to consumer space,” he explains. They are dedicated about this direct to consumer business. Iger promises small screen programming has the same production value as movies. “The only difference is length,” he says.

Dana Walden takes the screen. She emphasizes the decisions regarding new shows. The creators off This Is Us, New Girl, and Empire will b programming new shows like Only Murders in the Building. It will star Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. Footage is shown to investors, followed by Kate McKinnon’s The Dropout, and Rosario Dawson, Michael Keaton, and Peter Sarsgaard’s Dopesick. Handmaid’s Tale has been renewed for a fifth season. Kardashian family is bringing more reality TV to Hulu.

John Landgraf turns the attention to FX. He points out that since The Shield, FX audiences have given them some of the top rated reviews on IMDb, often landing a 7.8/10 on IMDb and a 74% on RottenTomatoes. The FX linear originals aare available on Hulu the day after they debut on the channel and have been a huge factor in increasing views on Hulu. “Every single one of FX’s returning series has posted year over year increases,” he points out. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is renewed for 4 more seasons, and titles like Atlanta and Dave have new seasons coming in 2021.

FX is developing an Alien series with Noah Hawley and Ridley Scott set on Earth, as well as Shogun, which emulates Game of Thrones but is based on a true story in Japan.

Lucasfilm

The Mandalorian is the first topic. “Star Wars was moving into new territory on the streaming service,” Kathleen Kennedy points out. “We could not be ore humbled by the reception of this show…with The Mandalorian on Disney+, we have usered in an entirely new era of Star Wars.” A recap of Season 2 of The Mandalorian plays.

Ahsoka Tano is getting a spinoff series set in the timeline of The Mandalorian. Rangers of the New Republic is an additional spinoff. Both are coming from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. 

A sizzle reel of Rogue One plays. Diego Luna describes thhe excitement of Rogue One connecting Star Wars fans new and old. “Then, magic happens, right?” he says, before it cuts to sets being built and rehearsals. The project is getting every bit of character and “level of attention to detail” as the previous films. Luna calls it “the beginning of a revolution.”

Obi Wan will begin production in March of 2021. Hayden Christensen will appear in the series as Darth Vader. Footage is shown to investors. 

The Bad Batch will follow characters on new missions in a rapidly changing galaxy. A teaser trailer plays. 

Star Wars Visions will be a Star Wars anthology series, offering a “diverse” approach to Star Wars. Lando Calrissian is also returning for a series. The Acolyte will be a mystery series set in the final days of the High Republic era. The Droid and Willow will also be on Disney+. Warwick Davis will return as Willow. Jon Chu is directing the pilot and will begin shooting next year in Wales. 

James Mangold is confirmed to be directing the final Indiana Jones movie, with Harrison Ford back. It will arrive in 2022, start production in early 2021, and is currently in pre-production.

Taika Waititi will direct a “fresh, unexpected, and unique,” Star Wars movie. Patty Jenkins will direct Rogue Squadron, a movie hitting theaters on Christmas in 2023. 

Kennedy tosses the presentation to National Geographic for a preview of their exciting slate. Among the titles is Limitless, a docu-series following Chris Hemsworth as he pushes himself and his body to new limits and to better health. 

Disney+ Originals

Dana Walden returns in Simpsons form. She talks to Homer. “I’ve learned how to find + on my keyboard and I’ve learned that armed bounty hunters make great nanny’s,” Homer explains. “I would kill for Fat Thor’s body!” 

Walden turns her attention to original titles. The first up is a Mighty Ducks series which references “the Ducks of the 90s.”  It is titled The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. Next is Turner & Hooch, with Josh Peck. It is followed by the John Stamos drama where he coaches a women’s basketball team titled Big Shot. The next segment of the strategy is “dramas tht are ambitious in scale.” A Beauty and the Beast prequel series is in development with Luke Evans and Josh Gad. Swiss Family Robinson will also be adapted into a series. Percy Jackson and The Olympians will be a new series.

Next is Disney’s original motion pictures. Hocus Pocus 2 is getting a made as a Hocus Pocus sequel on Disney+. A modern remake of Three Men And A Baby is also on the way, starring Zac Efron. A Chris Paul biopic is in development, in the vein of The Greek Freak. Cheaper By The Dozen is getting a remake based on a multiracial family, starring Gabriel Union, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid is getting a revisit, as well. The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild is also headed to Disney+. Simon Pegg returns to voice Buck. Night at the Museum is getting an animated film with Shawn Levy on board as a producer.

Shifting to event films… Jungle Cruise in July of 2021. The Lion King is getting a prequel from director Barry Jenkins. The Little Mermaid is on the way with songs from the original and brand new songs. A Chip ‘n’ Dale hybrid of animation and live-action stlye production is on the way in the form of Rescue Rangers, directed by Akiva Schaffer and starring John Mulaney and Andy Samberg. Enchanted is getting a sequel. Sister Act 3 is on the way with Whoopi Goldberg. A Cruella sizzle plays for investors. 

Another 10-minute break before Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, and Marvel.

Disney Animation Studios

Raya and the Last Dragon is the first film showcased. It will be released in theaters around the world and on Disney+ with Premiere Access on March 5. 

Don Hall, director Big Hero 6, talks about the Maymax series on Disney+. “The series is a continution of Big Hero 6,” he says. “The series focuses on Baymax’s original protocol, which is to be a nurse robot. Each episode, we meet a new character, a patient Baymax is going to help…Baymax will have a new feature that will allow him to quickly travel around the streets of San Fransokyo to find new patients.”

Zootopia is getting a series from its original directors called Zootopia+. Fru Fru, Tiger Dancers, and the sloth Flash, are all featured. It will arrive in Spring 2022. 

Princess Tiana is coming back in a longform musical comedy series called Tiana. It will explore New Orleans thoroughly. A Moana series is coming, a longform comedy, arriving on Disney+ in 2023. A new original series will see Disney Animation team up with Kugali for a series called Iwaju, which translated to, “the future.” It is set in Nigeria and explores themes of class and challenging the status quo. It arrives in 2022. 

The 60th animated film is Encanto, “because an Encanton is a charmed place, born of unique wonders.” It is set in Columbia and is very much a musical. It comes from Byron Howard, Charise Castro Smith, Jared Bush, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. 

Pixar

Pixar is turning its attention to fresh, young filmmakers while also utilizing its veteran filmmakers. The first film is Pete Doctor’s Soul, which hits Disney+ on December 25. More Disney+ content: Inside Pixar takes fans behind-the-scenes. Pixar Popcorn follows popular Pixar characters in short stories, arriving on Disney+ in January. A preview shows the return of Dug from Up. Next is Cars, following Lightning McQueen and Mater on a road trip across the country, in the form of a Fall 2022 series. The first longform animated series is coming from Toy Story 4 creatives in the form of Win or Lose, a series about different perspectives, arriving in 2023. 

Doctor turns his attention to feature films. 

The next feature is Luca from Enrico Casarosa. A trailer for the film plays.

Turning Red will be “an original take on coming of age comedies” and in the summer of 2022, a “science fiction adventure film unlike anything [Pixar has] done before,” comes in the form of Lightyear. This is not simply a Toy Story film. It is Buzz’s origin with Chris Evans as the voice.

Marvel

WandaVision is first. A trailer rolls out. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness includes Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez. WandaVision will lead straight into Strange 2, but also Spider-Man 3. 

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier reveals its first trailer. Black Widow will play in theaters.

Loki is next. It’s a “crime thriller.” The trailer starts in Avengers: Endgame when Loki disappeared with the Tesseract. He wakes up in another world. Loki will arrive in May.

Next is What If…?. The first look plays. Shang-Chi is the next movie mentioned. There is no footage or photos from the film.

Next is Ms. Marvel. A featurette shows the producers and cast intercut with comics and photography from set. Iman Vellani’s audition tape is part of it. 

Captain Marvel 2 is in the works with Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau among the cast.

Renner, Steinfel, Farmiga, Free, and Lopez are confirmed for Hawkeye.

She-Hulk is “a series about a woman navigating the world and trying to be taken seriously as a working professional,” Feige says. The titular character is played by Tatiana Maslaney. Tim Roth is reprising his Abomination role from The Incrtedible Hulk and Mark Ruffalo will be in the series as the Hulk.

Christian Bale will play Gorr in Thor: Love and Thunder. Guardians of the Galaxy will get a Holiday Special, written and directed by James Gunn, shot on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 which will arrive in 2023. Blade news will come soon. Black Panther II will not recast Chadwick Boseman. War Machine is getting a series in the form of Armor Wars. Ironheart will be played by Dominique Thorne in her own series. Secret Invasion will star Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelson in a Disney+ series. 

Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home director Jon Watts will direct Fantastic Four.