Disney News

Category: Disney

  • ‘Maleficent 2’ Gets a Title, a New Release Date and a New Poster

    ‘Maleficent 2’ Gets a Title, a New Release Date and a New Poster

    Today, Disney announced the upcoming follow-up sequel to 2014’s “Maleficent” has a new title, a new poster and a new release date.

    “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”, as it’s now titled, will hit theaters on Oct. 18, 2019. The fantasy adventure is moving its release date up by seven months. It had previously been slated to debut on May 29, 2020.

    The new date pits “Maleficent 2” against an untitled film from horror-maker Blumhouse. It will also have to contend with the second weekends of “The Adams Family,” the adaptation of Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch,” “Zombieland 2,” and “Gemini Man,” a futuristic thriller that unites Will Smith and Ang Lee. Take a look at the amazing new poster released today as well:

    Angelina Jolie reprises her role as the villainous enchantress Maleficent. The cast also includes Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville, who appeared in the first installment, as well as franchise newcomers Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Skrein, Harris Dickinson, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Joachim Rønning (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”) directs from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Noah Harpster.

    The first “Maleficent” was a box office smash when it opened in 2014. It grossed $758.5 million globally on a $180 million budget.

  • Kevin Hart Could Be Playing Mushu in Disney’s Live-Action Mulan Remake

    Kevin Hart Could Be Playing Mushu in Disney’s Live-Action Mulan Remake

    Disney’s live-action remake of “Mulan” is set to be released next year and according to some recent rumors the company may still be doing some casting. New reports have surfaced that Disney is considering Kevin Hart to give Mulan’s sidekick dragon Mushu a voice.

    According to The DisInsider, the live-action “Mulan” film has wrapped production, but as the film goes into the editing process, Disney is still looking for a voice for Mushu with Hart being their top choice.

    In the original 1998 “Mulan” animated film, Mushu is a small, kind of scrawny red Chinese dragon who may be the comic relief in the film, but also serves as Mulan’s closest companion. Eddie Murphy provided Mushu’s voice in the film, though Mark Moseley took over voicing duties for the 2004 direct-to-video sequel, Mulan II.

    Thus far, Mushu has not appeared in any official information about the live-action film — including the full synopsis which you can see below that was revealed last August.

    Mulan is the epic adventure of a fearless young woman who masquerades as a man in order to fight Northern Invaders attacking China. The eldest daughter of an honored warrior, Hua Mulan is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. When the Emperor issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army, she steps in to take the place of her ailing father as Hua Jun, becoming one of China’s greatest warriors ever.

    If Disney is really considering putting Hart in the role, it’s a move that could be met with some backlash. Back in December, Hart stepped down as the host for the 2019 Academy Awards following old tweets in which he made derogatory remarks about the LGBTQ+ community came to light. Hart apologized for the tweets, but still stepped down from the hosting duties.

    “Mulan” is directed by Niki Caro (Whale Rider, McFarland USA) from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Jurassic World, In the Heart of the Sea) and Elizabeth Martin & Lauren Hynek based on the narrative poem The Ballad of Mulan. The producers are Jason T. Reed (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Chris Bender (A History of Violence) and Jake Weiner (Criminal) with Barrie M. Osborne (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), Bill Kong (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Monster Hunt) and Tim Coddington (Crazy Rich Asians) serving as executive producers.

    Disney’s Mulan is set to hit theaters on March 27, 2020.

  • RUMOR: George Lucas Returning to Star Wars to Help Fix Episode IX

    RUMOR: George Lucas Returning to Star Wars to Help Fix Episode IX

    Star Wars: The Last Jedi received a lot of backlash and divided Star Wars fans on a whole new level. Now a new rumor claims that Disney may be bringing in George Lucas to help JJ Abrams on Episode IX and to help fix the franchise.

    According to a recent report by Express, “a leak claims George Lucas is closely involved with JJ Abrams on Episode IX and will help bring Luke Skywalker’s character back to his original vision following The Last Jedi fan backlash.”

    The report says that the director will work closely with the godfather of Star Wars that they have very exciting plans for Luke Skywalker and the other legacy characters.

    As with all rumors, you can take this with a grain of salt, but taking advice from the man who invented the galaxy far far away might not be a bad idea.

    The leak said: “George Lucas was involved in numerous sequences to fine-tune some of the legacy characters and their interactions with some of the sequel trilogy characters.

    George Lucas directed and guided JJ Abrams with Mark Hamill in exactly how the character of Luke Skywalker should be done.

    He will also be involved in some of the reshoots and editing techniques he will be overseeing during the reshoots in April and post production, which is set to end all the way in September and into October this year.”

    It’s all speculation at this point, but it was already widely reported that Lucas had a role as consultant on the franchise after Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, so it isn’t that far of a stretch to imagine that they might return to the source to help bring the saga home.

  • Disney Villains TV Series in the Works For Disney+ Streaming Service

    Disney Villains TV Series in the Works For Disney+ Streaming Service

    Disney’s upcoming streaming service Disney+ is set to launch this year and it looks like they are bringing in the big bad guys to get it started! Disney is developing a new TV series based on Disney Villans and it sounds wicked.

    Most of the programming planned for Disney+ leans into the company’s franchises like Marvel and Star Wars, but tapping into the Villian vault give the company a plethora of stories to tell.

    According to Production Weekly, Disney will be enlisting some of them for a new Disney Villains series, which is being developed by Steve Pearlman (Once Upon A Time) and Michael Seitzman (Quantico) as you can see in the post below.

    Few details are known at the moment, other than that it is slated to start production in the second quarter of 2020, but we’ll keep you posted as we know more.

  • Disney Brings Home Four Oscars Including Three for Black Panther

    Disney Brings Home Four Oscars Including Three for Black Panther

    Disney picked up Four Oscars at last nights 91st Academy Awards. Marvel Studios’ groundbreaking film Black Panther received three and Pixar Animation Studios’ Bao picked up one as well.

    Black Panther’s costume design, production design and original score were recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which also honored Pixar Animation Studios’ Bao as best Short Film (Animated).

    Black Panther’s costume designer, Ruth Carter, and production designer, Hannah Beachler, made history at the 91st Oscars, becoming the first African American women to win in their respective categories.

    “Marvel may have created the first black Super Hero, but through costume design we turned him into an African king,” said Carter, as she accepted the Academy Award for best Costume Design.

    “It’s been my life’s honor to create costumes,” she added. “Thank you to the Academy. Thank you for honoring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead on screen.”

    The film’s three Oscars cap a memorable awards season for Black Panther, which was also nominated for Best Picture and counts among its many honors a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and a Grammy® Award for Göransson’s score. The film was also an American Film Institute (AFI) Movie of the Year and featured in the National Board of Review’s Top Films of 2018.

    Bao’s director, Domee Shi, began her animation career as an intern at Pixar in 2011 and made her directing debut with the short that opened ahead of Incredibles 2 in 2018. Accepting the Oscar with the film’s producer, Becky Neiman-Cobb, Shi sought to inspire young female artists who may follow in her footsteps. “To all of the nerdy girls out there who hide behind their sketchbooks, don’t be afraid to tell your stories to the world,” Shi emphasized. “They’re going to freak people out, but you’ll probably connect with them, too, and that’s an amazing feeling to have.”

  • VIDEO: Elsa Meets Dory in Ellen DeGeneres Spoof of New ‘Frozen 2’ Teaser

    VIDEO: Elsa Meets Dory in Ellen DeGeneres Spoof of New ‘Frozen 2’ Teaser

    The “Frozen 2” teaser-trailer was viewed online more than 116 million times, setting an all time record for an animated movie and now Ellen has revealed her own version of the teaser on Friday’s episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and it is too funny!

    The spoof trailer opens with the same scene that fans saw last week, with Elsa (Idina Menzel) using her powers in an attempt to freeze the ocean as she crosses it.

    Then, a familiar voice rises from the ocean. “Hi, I’m Dory, hi,” the Degeneres-voiced fish from Finding Nemo says while trailing Elsa. “I love your hair. That is some pretty hair. Do you blow dry that hair? It’s really, really pretty,” Dory says in her typical fast-paced fashion, only to be ignored by the oblivious Elsa. Take a look at the hilarious clip below:

    Even the waves and a “ooh, slippery rock!” can’t slow her down. “I’m frozen, are you frozen, too?” Dory cleverly says at the conclusion of the mock trailer.

    The original “Frozen” movie became a massive hit when it opened in 2013, earning over $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, along with two Oscars. It’s still the highest-grossing animated film ever, as well as the 13th biggest movie of all time.

    “Frozen 2,” hits theaters Nov. 22.

  • Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse LEGO Ideas Set Coming Soon

    Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse LEGO Ideas Set Coming Soon

    The results of the second LEGO Ideas 2018 review round have been revealed and a Steamboat Willie design is among the winners chosen to be released as an official LEGO set.

    This nostalgic design celebrates over 90 years of Disney’s Iconic True Original Mickey Mouse and of the ten product ideas that qualified, Steamboat Willie by Máté “szabomate90” Szabó was one of the designs that made it through.

    If you aren’t familiar with LEGO Ideas, it’s a program that lets fans of the building blocks pitch their own design to the company. A model needs to be created, photographed, and submitted—alongside a convincing proposal as to why the set should become an official LEGO product.

    This proposal is inspired by the beloved Mickey short of the same name and the creator of this set argued a convincing case as you can see below:

    “Steamboat Willie is the first fully synchronized sound cartoon directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was the debut of Mickey Mouse in a cartoon, the first to be distributed and the third to be produced,” he says. “So as an animator and a LEGO fan I’d like to pay my respect to that marvelous production, which…inspired a lot of talented artists.”


    This set, which will include 156 bricks, received the required 10,000 votes and earned the chance to be reviewed by the company and it will now be an approved new LEGO set.

  • Walt Disney Archives Founder Dave Smith Passes Away at the Age of 78

    Walt Disney Archives Founder Dave Smith Passes Away at the Age of 78

    In the same week that Walt Disney’s Son-in-Law and Former Disney CEO passes away, the Disney family is now mourning the loss of yet another Disney legend. Walt Disney Archives founder Dave Smith passed away in Burbank, California, on February 15, 2019 at the age of 78.

    Dave dedicated his four-decade career at The Walt Disney Company to preserving Disney’s precious treasures from film, television, theme parks, and beyond.

    “I’m deeply saddened to learn of Dave Smith’s passing,” said Bob Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “He was the unsung hero of Disney’s history who, as our first archivist, spent 40 years rescuing countless documents and artifacts from obscurity, investing endless hours restoring and preserving these priceless pieces of our legacy, and putting them in context to tell our story. Dave was a true Disney Legend, and we are indebted to him for building such an enduring, tangible connection to our past that continues to inspire our future.”

    Named a Disney Legend in 2007, Dave was beloved by fans around the world for his wide knowledge of the Company’s rich history, which he shared in books and through his popular magazine column “Ask Dave.”

  • Georgia Merry and Brian Hull New Beauty and the Beast Duet is Magical

    Georgia Merry and Brian Hull New Beauty and the Beast Duet is Magical

    Youtube sensation Georgia Merry and impressionist Brian Hull have teamed up once again. This time the duo is singing “Something There” from Disney’s “Beauty and Beast” and it’s amazing!

    Merry and Hull have partnered up for a duet before with a performance from Disney’s Pocahontas and this time they have brought the magic once again! Take a look at the new video below:

    Breaking through with her sound and style, Georgia Merry has become one of YouTube’s biggest Disney content creators. With over a hundred million video views she has really made quite a name for herself and keeps her fans coming back for more.

    Georgia is 22 and lives just outside of Manchester, UK. She created her channel around five years ago and her content is split between covers of the latest popular songs, vlogs and, by far and away her most popular and viewed content, Disney medleys.

    Each of Georgia’s Disney medleys takes around two months of solid work to produce. Her medleys are a result of massive amounts of hard work, from planning and producing the music that it will feature to cutting the transitions between songs.  She has to record the vocals, plan the costumes and make-up and then of course the shooting and editing of the video, all to come up with the final production that you’ll see on YouTube.

  • First Look: Disney Releases First ‘Frozen 2’ Teaser-Trailer

    First Look: Disney Releases First ‘Frozen 2’ Teaser-Trailer

    Today, Disney dropped the first teaser-trailer for “Frozen 2” and it looks amazing!

    Co-director Jennifer Lee teased that the characters are “going to go far out of Arendelle” in the sequel for a “bigger, more epic” journey.

    The teaser for the highly anticipated follow up to Disney’s 2013 hit gives us a peek at what all your favorite Arendelle characters have been up to for these last six years. Take a look at the trailer below:

    The teaser starts off with Elsa watching the rise and fall of the waves as a storm brews overhead. She then musters her courage and manages to run across the water by making a path of snowflakes and ice. However, she quickly falls into the surf.

    The original “Frozen” movie became a massive hit when it opened in 2013, earning over $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, along with two Oscars. It’s still the highest-grossing animated film ever, as well as the 13th biggest movie of all time.

    “Frozen 2,” hits theaters Nov. 22.