Everything Announced by Disney During Investor Day 2020

Disney’s annual Investor Day event took place Thursday with this year’s event having a special emphasis on their streaming service, Disney+, but there were a ton of reveals, updates, and overall thrilling information during the hours long event giving fans a lot to be excited over the coming months and years. And when we say a ton of information, we do mean a ton. Every aspect of Disney’s catalog had some major updates on Thursday making it truly an event with a little something for everyone.

From movies to television series, across Hulu, FX on Hulu, Disney+, National Geographic, Lucasfilm, Disney Animation, Pixar, and yes, Marvel Studios, there were huge updates revealing fresh details about known projects, such as exactly who Christian Bale is playing in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder as well as some surprise announcements, such as Patty Jenkins’ upcoming Star Wars film, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. There were even some updates about Disney’s streamer more generally, including the announcement of Star and Star+ for the international market and a price increase (of just one dollar) for Disney+ in the United States next spring.

There was a lot to take in during Disney’s Investor Day presentation so we’ve rounded up all the announcements, going in order as announced during the presentation. Read on to see everything that was announced during Disney’s Investor Day and be sure to let us know which thing you’re most excited for in the comments.

Raya and the Last Dragon Simultaneous theatrical and Disney+ release

Disney announced that Raya and the Last Dragon will be released both in theaters on Disney+ Premiere Access on March 5, 2021, a strategy similar to what Disney implemented for Mulan earlier this year.

Star and Star+ launching soon for international markets

New series coming to Hulu and Star

A handful of new series were announced for Hulu and Star during the event.

Only Murders in the Building starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez.

The Dropout starring Kate McKinnon

Dopesick starring Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, and Rosario Dawson

Nine Perfect Strangers starring Nicole Kidnman and Melissa McCarthy

The Handmaid’s Tale renewed for Season 5

As confirmed during The Walt Disney Company’s Investor Day earlier this afternoon, Hulu has revealed that The Handmaid’s Tale has been renewed through Season Five. 

New series coming to FX on Hulu

A few new series for FX on Hulu were announced during the event. They are:

The Old Man starring Jeff Bridges

American Horror Stories, an American Horror Story series from Ryan Murphy

Platform, an “innovative scripted anthology series” from B.J. Novak

Reservation Dogs, currently in development from Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi

Y: The Last Man starring Diane Lane

Alien television series in development

Disney revealed the next entry in the Alien franchise will be a FX on Hulu series from Fargo and Legion creator Noah Hawley, marking this the first TV entry in the ongoing franchise established by filmmaker Ridley Scott. Hawley previously revealed that he would not be moving forward on Alien, so this is a huge surprise for fans who thought the project was dead in the water. That is not the case, as Hawley continues working with FX where he’s created award-winning and revered shows throughout the last decade. There is no word yet on when Alien will release on FX on Hulu.

Shogun TV series being developed at FX

James Clavell’s Shogun is being develped by FX with Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo bringing the series to life with Tim Van Patten onboard. The latter will act as a producer on the series which was described as being as epic and gritty as Game of Thrones. 

Star Wars: Ranges of the New Republic announced for Disney+

Announced today at The Walt Disney Company’s Investor Day, a new spinoff is being developed from The Mandalorian, titled “Rangers of the New Republic.” It’s currently unknown who, or what, the series will be focusing on, but with Gina Carano’s Cara Dune being rumored to earn her own spinoff series, it sounds like this could be that project.

Ahsoka Tano spinoff series announced for Disney+

Weeks after debuting in live-action, Ahsoka Tano is getting her own series. Thursday afternoon at Disney’s annual Investor Day presentation, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy revealed Rosario Dawson’s take on the character is getting her own series for Disney+. Though the producer didn’t get into specifics, she confirmed Dawson would return and the series is actively being developed by The Mandalorian producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.

Star Wars: Andor first look revealed

Two years after announcing that a Star Wars series centered around Cassian Andor was announced to be in development, an official title and first look at the upcoming series — as well as other details — were announced Thursday afternoon during Disney’s annual Investor Day presentation. During the presentation, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy revealed that Andor, starring Diego Luna in the role of Cassian Andor from Rogue One: A Star Wars story is headed to Disney+ in 2022 — and shared a first look at the eagerly anticipated series.

Hayden Christensen returning to play Darth Vader in Obi-Wan series

Star Wars: The Bad Batch animated series trailer released

Disney+ released the first look at Star Wars: The Bad Batch, a new animated series coming to the streaming service that spins out of the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The series will debut in 2021. According to a press release, “The series follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch (first introduced in The Clone Wars) as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War. Members of Bad Batch – a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army — each possess a singular exceptional skill which makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew. In the post-Clone War era, they will take on daring mercenary missions as they struggle to stay afloat and find new purpose.”

Star Wars: Visions series of animated short films announced

Star Wars: Lando event series announced

As part of Lucasfilm’s section of the Disney Investor Day presentations, the home of Star Wars announced a whole host of new shows and stories in development for the Disney+ streaming service and among them a Lando show! Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced Star Wars: Lando during the event, confirming that it will be a “brand-new event series” featuring the galaxy’s favorite scoundrel. Dear White People creator Justin Simien has been tapped to develop the story which is in early development now. Curiously absent from the announcement however was who will be playing the character in the show, with no mention of Donald Glover or Billy D. Williams.

Star Wars: The Acolyte series details announced

New details for the new Star Wars series from Russan Doll creator Leslye Headland were announced during the presentation. During the Investor Day presentation, fans got to learn the official title surrounding the series – Star Wars: The Acolyte. The presentation also revealed that The Acolyte will be set in the final days of the High Republic era, a timeline that is set to be explored in Star Wars’ publishing initiative early next year.

The Willow series is coming to Disney+ in 2022

The next installment of Indiana Jones coming in July 2022

Children of Blood & Bone being developed by Lucasfilm

Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie from Patty Jenkins coming December 2023

Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins will be heading to the galaxy far, far away for a brand new movie called Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. The movie was also revealed to premiere in theaters in December 2023. There’s no word yet on what Jenkins has planned, but a recent tweet and the film’s title all but confirms that she’ll be focusing on X-Wing pilots as they battle in space over the fate of the galaxy. This is another massive reveal for the Star Wars franchise as they are securing the talents of Jenkins after her work on the Wonder Woman franchise.

National Geographic

A handful of projects for National Geographics were announced.

Cousteau, a documentary about legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau

Genius: Martin Luther King, Jr. from executive producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard

Secrets of the Whales, narrated by Sigourney Weaver

A Real Bug’s Life

America The Beautiful

Limitless with Chris Hemsworth, created by Darren Aronofsky from his production company Protozoa Pictures and Jane Root’s Nutopia.

Welcome to Earth from Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures and Jane Root’s Nutopia, a series in which Will Smith embarks on an awe-inspiring journey to unlock the secrets of this planet’s most extraordinary, unexplained phenomena of nature.

Disney+

Some new Disney+ projects were announced during the presentation on Thursday.

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers starring Emilio Estevez and Lauren Graham

Turner & Hooch starring Josh Peck

Big Shot starring John Stamos, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Jessalyn Gilsig

The Mysterious Benedict Society staring Tony Hale and Kristen Schaal

Hocus Pocus 2

After more than a year of reports that a Hocus Pocus sequel was on the way, fans of the iconic Halloween film got great news on Thursday. Hocus Pocus 2 was officially announced for Disney+ during Disney’s annual Investor Day presentation, confirming that the sequel to the 1993 film is indeed moving forward and with Adam Shankman set to direct.

New original movies for Disney+

In addition to Hocus Pocus 2, Disney+ announced a full slate of new films including

A “modern take on the hilarious ’80s comedy” Three Men and a Baby. The film will star Zac Efron and is slated for 2022 release.

Safety, a film inspired by the story of former Clemson University football safety Ray McELrathBey debuts on Disney+ December 11th

Three new original movies inspired by the real-life stories of Chris Paul, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Keanon Lowe.

Flora and Ulysses, a film that will see a cynical young comic book fan and her superpowered squirrel sidekick team up will debut on February 19, 2021.

Cheaper by the Dozen from Blackish producer Kenya Barris and starring Gabrielle Union will debut in 2022.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise is getting an all-new animated film in 2021.

The next installment of 20th Century Studios’ Ice Age franchise, The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild coming in 2022.

An animated Night at the Museum coming in 2021.

A prequel to the live-action The Lion King as well as the cast of Disney’s The Little Mermaid

Disney also announced a prequel to the live-action The Lion King is in development from Moonlight director Barry Jenkins with music from Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, and Nicholas Britell.

Disney also shared the cast of the upcoming live-action Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers

Among the many announcements were a fair share of live-action remakes of iconic Disney classics, including a long-rumored live-action/animation hybrid of Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers, which is set to be released on Disney+ in Spring of 2022. On Thursday, fans got their first official details surrounding the project, including the confirmation that Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping‘s Akiva Schaffer will be directing the project. We also learned who will be voicing the two titular characters, with John Mulaney voicing Chip and Andy Samberg voicing Dale. Seth Rogen is also set to make a cameo appearance.

Live-action Pinocchio and Peter Pan & Wendy

Disenchanted and Sister Act 3

Also announced for Disney+ was Disenchanted, a sequel to the film Enchanted.  It was confirmed that Amy Adams, who starred in the original film as the protagonist Giselle, will be back for the new film. Development for the film initially started back in 2010.

Sister Act 3, starring Whoopi Goldberg, is in development as well with Tyler Perry set to produce.

Disney Animation series for Disney+

Disney Animation announced their first-ever original animated series coming to Disney+: Baymax!, Zootopia+, Tiana, and Moana.

Collaboration with Pan-African entertainment company Kugali

Encanto first look

Pixar

Pixar had a number of updates and announcements during the presentation as well. They included:

The first five episodes of docuseries Inside Pixar are now streaming on Disney+ with more episodes in the coming months.

Popcorn, a collection of mini shorts starring favorite Pixar characters coming in January 2021.

Dug Days, an Up spin-off series following the adventures of Dug the dog.

A new series following Cars favorites Lightning McQueen and Mater coming in Fall 2022.

Pixar’s first original long-form animated series, Win or Lose, coming fall 2023.

Pixar also announced its next feature film, Luca, heading to theaters June 2021.

From the director of the short Bao, Domee Shi’s Turning Red hits theaters March 11, 2022.

Lightyear

Heading to theaters June 17, 2022, Lightyear will star Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in what is described as the “definitive story of the original Buzz Lightyear.”

WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

There were a ton of announcements and offerings from Marvel Studios during Thursday’s presentation. 

First up, a new trailer for the upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision offered the best look yet at the highly anticipated series starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany. You can read more about that here. A new poster for the series was also released. WandaVision will debut January 15th on Disney+.

Up next were updates about Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness. Set to debut March 25, 2022, Kevin Feige confirmed that Xochitl Gomez is playing America Chavez in the film and that it will tie to both WandaVision and the next Spider-Man film.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Fans got their first look at the upcoming The Falcon and the Winter Soldier for Disney+ on Thursday with the first trailer for the series. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will take place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and follow the two best friends of Steve Rogers in a world without Captain America. Steve passed the shield and mantle to Sam Wilson, aka Falcon, when he decided to retire. Bucky Barnes will continue operating as Winter Soldier. The series will debut on March 19, 2021.

Loki

Maybe the biggest surprise from the Marvel presentation on Thursday was the first trailer for Loki. Featuring the Asgardian God of Mischief and Owen Wilson’s TVA agent, the trailer takes place immediately following the flashback events in Avengers: Endgame where Loki manages to get his hands on the Space Stone. What follows next in a mind-bending adventure across both space and time. See it for yourself below.

What If…? trailer released

Marvel Studios released an official trailer for their animated series Marvel’s What If…? Previously announced at the first Investor Day in 2017, the series will take the ideas from the classic Marvel comic book and turn the Marvel Cinematic Universe on its head. The series, narrated by Jeffrey Wright as the all-seeing Watcher, will also see the return of several MCU vets like Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Josh Brolin, Hayley Atwell, Chadwick Boseman, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, Natalie Portman, Michael Douglas, Michael B. Jordan, Sebastian Stan, Michael Rooker, Tom Hiddleston and other returning Marvel stars.

Ms. Marvel updates, including confirmation of Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan

There was quite a bit of Ms. Marvel news in the presentation. Not only were fans treated to a sizzle reel for the Disney+ series, but Marvel Studios confirmed that Iman Vellani has been cast in the titular role. It was also confirmed that Captain Marvel 2 will include both Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau in the film.

Confirmation of Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop in Hawkeye and Tatiana Maslany as Jen Walters/She-Hulk in She-Hulk

Marvel Studios also confirmed that Hailee Steinfeld is indeed Kate Bishop in Hawkeye and Tatiana Maslany Jen Walters/She-Hulk in She-Hulk. Steinfeld has now officially broken her silence, taking to Twitter to share a set photo of herself in the role. As for She-Hulk it was confirmed that Mark Ruffalo will return as Hulk and Tim Roth will return as Abomination.

Moon Knight, Secret Invasion, Ironheart, Armor Wars, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and I am Groot

There were a ton of announcements regarding Marvel Disney+ series during the presentation. Not only were details for Moon Knight confirmed, but some new series and specials announced as well. 

Secret Invasion will see Samuel L. Jackson return as Nick Fury along with Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull Talos. 

An Ironheart series starring Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams was announced.

Armor Wars, starring Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine will explore the classic Marvel story about what happens when Tony Stark’s tech falls into the wrong hands.

James Gunn will return to write and direct The Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special. The special will be shot with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and is set to arrive on Disney+ in 2022.

Also, I Am Groot, a series of shorts featuring Baby Groot as well as several new and unusual characters is coming to Disney+ as well.

Christian Bale’s Thor: Love and Thunder character revealed

Marvel Studios has confirmed that Christian Bale has joined Thor: Love and Thunder as Gorr the God Butcher. While fans might not be entirely surprised with this casting confirmation, they likely had no idea who Bale would be playing in the upcoming Thor sequel from director Taika Waititi. However, with the upcoming sequel set to embrace a number of elements from writer Jason Aaron’s with the character, such as focusing on Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster becoming Thor, it’s no surprise that Gorr, who Aaron co-created, will be making the jump to the big screen. Thor: Love and Thunder is set to hit theaters on February 11, 2022.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Kevin Feige officially confirmed during Thursday night’s Disney Investor’s Day 2020 presentation that a third Ant-Man film is in production. Titled Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, the film will see the return of Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer from the previous installment, 2018’s Ant-Man and The Wasp. Jonathan Majors joins the cast as Kang the Conqueror, while Kathryn Newton joins the fold as Rudd’s daughter Cassie Lang.

Fantastic Four

And the biggest announcement was saved for the end: Fantastic Four is in the work with Spider-Man 3 director Jon Watts helming the project. No additional information was given about the project, but the announcement was huge for fans. 

Fantastic Four has long been a property Marvel fans have been exciting to see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After Disney purchased 20th Century Fox and returned the rights of Fantastic Four and the X-Men to Marvel, fans have been eager to find out what Feige would have planned for the franchise.