Last week, Disney hosted the D23 Expo, the ultimate fan event. At the Expo, Disney hosted so many great panels that let Guests hear from casts of upcoming films and series like The Santa Clauses, as well as past hits like Encanto. In addition, Disney hosted a Disney and Pixar film panel — where cameras were not allowed — and they shared more info on upcoming films like Snow White and Inside Out 2. They also announced that some new series would be coming down the pike — like The Lion King prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King.
The D23 Expo may have ended, but that does not mean that the news has stopped coming. While Disney announced a number of projects at the Expo, most of them did not have release dates — until now. Disney waited until this week to officially announce their slate, which includes the pushing back of the highly anticipated live-action film, The Haunted Mansion. The movie — which will star Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto — was supposed to be released on March 10, 2023, but will now premiere on August 11, 2023.
After The Haunted Mansion, Disney will release its newest animated feature, Wish. Disney also shared that Pixar’s next film Elio — the story of a young boy who meets aliens — will be released on March 1, 2024. That will be followed up by the highly-anticipated, but also highly controversial, live-action remake, Snow White on March 22, 2024. Next up? Disney announced that Mufasa will be released on July 5, 2024.
Here’s what we know about Mufasa: The Lion King — it will show the future king as he washed away in a flood. Alone and struggling, Mufasa must find a new pride to become a part of. The film will show that Mufasa was not born into royalty, he learned it. The series will also feature the popular sidekicks, Timon and Pumbaa — who will once again be voiced by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogan.
As for Wish, the film will tell the story of Asha, who lives in the fairy tale kingdom called the Kingdom of Wishes. The film will show viewers the origin of the famous Wishing Star but, of course, not everything goes smoothly in this kingdom and Asha learns that there is a dark side to her idyllic home. West Side Story star Ariana DeBose will voice Asha.
