In Culture
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A guide to upcoming Disney releases like ‘Disenchanted,’ ‘Loki’ and more

By Amrie Cruz on
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Today, Disney once again solidified its position as a formidable competitor in the streaming wars.

In a four-hour event called The Walt Disney Company Investor Day, the company made several announcements and among them is its multibillion-dollar plan for streaming platform Disney Plus. “Over the next few years, roughly 10 Marvel series, 10 Star Wars series, 15 Disney live-action, Disney Animation and Pixar series, plus 15 all-new Disney live-action, Disney Animation, and Pixar features will be released directly on Disney Plus,” it said in a tweet. 

However, there’s a catch. On March 26, 2021, it will be hiking its monthly Disney Plus subscription price to $7.99 (P384.16). It’s a dollar more than the previous price but we bet avid fans of Disney franchises would be more than willing to shell that out to be able to catch some of the most-awaited post-2020 content. We’re listing down our favorites from the list of upcoming releases.

Star Wars

Star Wars prequel trilogy fans, rejoice! (It’s me. I’m the prequel fan in question.) The “Obi-Wan Kenobi” original series will have Ewan McGregor reprising the titular role along with Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. It’s set 10 years after “Revenge of the Sith” so it’s unlikely that Natalie Portman will be joining them at all. We’ll take what we can get. 

The pair aren’t the only ones making a return. For “Andor,” Diego Luna is making a comeback as Captain Cassian Andor. We’ll get to learn more about the building of the rebellion pre-Jyn Erso. The sneak peek seems to tease a Felicity Jones cameo so we have high hopes for their characters’ reunion. 

“Wonder Wonder” director Patty Jenkins is at the helm of “Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.” While we have yet to learn about its cast, we can guess that it won’t be focusing on force users since Lucasfilm spilled that it will “introduce a new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives.”

For fans of “The Mandalorian,” (its second season started streaming today!) two spin-offs set within its timeline titled “Rangers of the New Republic” and “Ahsoka” are also on the pipeline. 

Perhaps more intriguing are the two animated Star Wars series. “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” will follow the story of elite clones who take on the role of mercenaries in a post-“Clone Wars” era. On the other hand, “Star Wars: Visions” is comprised of short films created by Japanese anime artists that are set in the universe. 

Other Lucasfilm projects in production are the live-action series “Lando,” “The Acolyte” and “Willow.” On top of that, there’s the animated film “A Droid Story” with R2-D2 and C-3PO and a feature film directed by Taika Waititi that is still in development.

Marvel

We’re sure a lot of Marvel fans have all but memorized the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) calendar and we’re stoked to finally get the names of the actors who will be joining in on the fun. 

Marvel announced that Iman Vellani is playing the titular role in the “Ms. Marvel” series. Not to be confused with Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan is a Pakistani-American teenager from New Jersey so we’re expecting a similar vibe with the Spiderman films. Brie Larson will still be returning as Carol Danvers on “Captain Marvel 2.”

Other interesting newcomers are Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez a.k.a Miss America who will be making her debut on the “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” film and Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”

One of the things we’re most excited to hear about is “Orphan Black’s” Tatiana Maslany taking up a mantle in the “She-Hulk” series. Mark Ruffalo will also be joining her as Hulk but our guess is that we’ll be seeing more of Dr. Banner than his alter ego. 

Marvel has finally confirmed that Hailee Steinfeld will be playing Kate Bishop in the “Hawkeye” series with Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton. Another big name entering the MCU is Christian Bale who will be taking on the villain role in “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

The company also revealed more cast members from the recently wrapped up “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” film. Simu Liu is joined by the likes of Awkwafina and Michelle Yeoh. 

With the volume of Marvel releases, it can be both overwhelming and intoxicating. We also have new heroes to meet in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie (which we’re hoping will finally give justice to the characters), as well as the “Moon Knight” and “Ironheart” series. 

However, rest assured, there are still a lot of familiar faces on shows such as “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Loki,” “WandaVision,” “Armor Wars,” “I Am Groot,” “Secret Invasion” and the mind-boggling “What If..?”

For “Black Panther II,” Marvel confirmed that it won’t be re-casting the late Chadwick Boseman’s King T’Challa. But the film will still be released as a way to honor him. Another project that might bring a twist from the usual superhero movie is the “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.”

Disney Animation

We’re finally getting an “Enchanted” sequel. Though we have yet to get details on the flick other than the fact that Amy Adams will be returning as Giselle, we’re hoping that we’ll still see a mix of live-action and animation from “Disenchanted.” Our fingers are also crossed for a song as equally dazzling as “That’s How You Know..”

Musical comedy animated film “Encanto” is sure to pique the interest of anyone who enjoyed “Coco.” Set in Colombia, it’s about a magical family living in a magical home. It includes songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. 

While Chris Evans has retired from being Captain America, he’ll still be part of the Disney family as the new voice actor for an upcoming Buzz Lightyear origin feature. Of course, there’s also Southeast Asian inspired “Raya and the Last Dragon” in the lineup.

Disney Animation is also releasing several series including “Moana,” “Tiana,” “Zootopia,” “Baymax,” “Up” spinoff “Dug Days” and a yet to be named “Cars” spinoff. 

Which project are you most looking forward to?

 

Art by Jan Cardasto

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