Disney News

Category: Movies & TV

  • ABC’s ‘American Idol’ Nationwide Bus Tour Auditions Kickoff at Walt Disney World

    ABC’s ‘American Idol’ Nationwide Bus Tour Auditions Kickoff at Walt Disney World

    The groundbreaking series, “American Idol,” debuted on its new home at ABC in last year. The show is coming back once again and for the second year in a row, the ‘Idol’ bus will kick off open auditions at the Walt Disney World Resort.

    On Saturday, August 25, ABC’s “American Idol” will begin its 20-plus city search for the next singing sensation when the Idol bus arrives at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. And during auditions at the complex, ABC’s “American Idol” Season 1 winner Maddie Poppe, runner-up Caleb Lee Hutchinson and finalist Catie Turner will make special appearances.

    ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is located at: 700 S. Victory Way Kissimmee, FL 34747

    Early arrival is encouraged. Parking will be available as early as 4 a.m., but not before. Registration will begin at 7 a.m. with auditions starting at 9 a.m. Overnight camping will not be allowed. Celebrity judges will not be on site. Make sure to bring water, sunscreen and a hat to stay in top shape for your audition.

    All singers must be at least 15 years old to audition. Pre-registration is encouraged. To Pre-register and for additional details, full eligibility requirements, submission forms, and terms and conditions, visit www.americanidol.com/auditions. If you’re auditioning, you can bring one guest to accompany you, and the guest must be over 5 years old.

    “American Idol” bus tour auditions will begin on the same day in San Diego, California, as a second Idol Bus joins the nationwide quest for talent.

    In addition to appearing in person, hopefuls can submit audition videos online via www.americanidol.com/auditions or by showing off their talents via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Musical.ly using the hashtag #TheNextIdol.

    American Idol” returns for its second season on ABC for the 2018-2019 season with all-star judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Emmy®-winning producer Ryan Seacrest will also return as host.

    Can’t make it to the auditions at Walt Disney World Resort? Check out www.americanidol.com/auditions for other cities around the United States.

  • Disney Developing African Princess Live-Action Fairytale

    Disney Developing African Princess Live-Action Fairytale

    Disney is developing a live-action fairytale film centered on an African princess currently title “Sadé.”

    The project was picked up based on a pitch by Ola Shokunbi and Lindsey Reed Palmer who will co-write the screenplay. The story follows a young heroine, named Sadé, as she attempts to save her kingdom from mysterious evil forces using her newly discovered magical powers, according to Deadline.

    The film marks the first-time that a female African character will lead an original Disney princess fairytale. Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog,” featured the studios first Black princess when it was released in 2009.

    Marvel’s “Black Panther,” set in the fictional African nation of Wakanda brought Disney massive success this year grossing $1.35 billion worldwide and is the third-highest domestic performer of all time at $700 million. Disney recognizes the popularity of underrepresented minority narratives in blockbuster films and is looking to continue that trend.

    A director has yet to be named. “Dope” director Rick Famuyiwa is attached to produce, while Scott Falconer will serve as exec producer.

  • ‘Incredibles 2’ Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide

    ‘Incredibles 2’ Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide

    Incredibles 2 hit the $1 billion mark globally on Monday, making it the seventh animated film to cross this threshold at the global box office.

    It is Disney’s fifth animated and 18th-ever billion-dollar release and joins Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War as Disney’s third release to reach the $1 billion milestone this year.

    The film, which holds an A+ CinemaScore and a 93% Certified Fresh on RottenTomatoes, has earned $574.0M domestically and $430.9M internationally for a global total of $1.005 billion through July 30.

    After setting a domestic box office record for biggest animated debut ever with $182.7 million (June 15–17), Incredibles 2 became the first animated film ever to surpass the $500 million mark in North America and now stands as the ninth biggest overall release in U.S. history. With Toy Story 3, Finding Dory and Incredibles 2, Pixar is the first and only animated studio to have released three billion-dollar films.

    Incredibles 2 continues its global rollout this week, opening in Japan tomorrow and in Spain on Friday, followed by Italy and Germany in September.

  • Disney, 21st Century Fox Shareholders Vote to Approve $71.3 Billion Merger

    Disney, 21st Century Fox Shareholders Vote to Approve $71.3 Billion Merger

    Disney’s acquisition of fox is nearly complete. Friday, shareholders approve Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox entertainment assets.

    The tie-up brings together Marvel’s X-Men and Avengers franchises and creates an entertainment behemoth in the digital streaming era. The shareholder vote caps a saga that began in December 2017, when Disney made its first offer for part of Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate. It kicked off a bidding war with Comcast, which dropped out last week focus on attempted buyout of the European pay-TV operator Sky.

    The Fox deal will help Disney compete with technology players like Amazon and Netflix. The agreement is not expected to close for several months and still requires regulatory approvals.

    Source: AP

  • Disney Unveils First Image From Live-Action ‘Kim Possible’ Movie

    Disney Unveils First Image From Live-Action ‘Kim Possible’ Movie

    If you’re wondering “what’s the sitch” with the New live-action “Kim Possible” movie, then we have the details for you.

    The Disney Channel released promotional images for the forthcoming live-action motion picture this past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con showing Sadie Stanley, 16, in the titular role of the high schooler with an alter ego that has global implications.


    For those who don’t know, Kim Possible is a cheerleader and she saves the world, even on school nights. With her sidekick, Ron Stoppable and his naked mole rat Rufus they go through normal teenage life while saving the world.

    The original series which ran for 87 episodes was launched in 2002.  In 2003 it was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding animated program and it also inspired two animated Disney Channel movies.

    The “Kim Possible” movie also stars Sean Giambrone — who leads sibling network ABC’s The Goldbergs — as Kim’s loyal bestie Ron Stoppable. It’s executive produced by McCorkle, Schooley, and Zanne Devine, and co-directed and co-produced by Adam B. Stein and Zach Lipovsky.

  • No, Disney Is NOT Making Fortnite TV Show for Disney XD

    No, Disney Is NOT Making Fortnite TV Show for Disney XD

    Recently, rumors of a Fortnite TV show in the works for Disney have gained a lot of attention, but the hopes of Fortnite fans have been “knocked” as they find out the announcement made by a fake Twitter account isn’t real.

    If you’ve never heard of Fortnite, it’s a co-op fantasy ‘Battle Royale’-style survival game that was first released in July 2017. Earlier this year, it became the most-viewed game in YouTube history and the free-to-play game has attracted more than 125 million players globally. The games massive success made it easy for some to believe that a TV show was a real possibility.

    The rumors started after a Disney XD parody account tweeted the fake announcement of a Fortnite TV show leading many to believe a show was in the works as you can see in the post below.

    The fake announcement stated the show would premiere on August 12, 2019 and teased upcoming sneak peeks throughout the week and has been retweeted more than three thousand times.

    The parody account goes by the Twitter handle @DisnayXD and even uses a globe icon at the end of the username to convince users that it’s a verified account.

    The tweet gained enough attention to get addressed by an employee of Epic.

    Nick Chester tweeted condemned the tweet and anyone reporting it as fact, eliminating any question that a TV show is being made.

     

  • Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K. Brown in Talks To Join Frozen 2 Cast

    Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K. Brown in Talks To Join Frozen 2 Cast

    Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K. Brown are in talks to join the cast of Disney’s “Frozen 2”, the sequel to the 2013 Oscar-winning animated film.

    Both Wood and Brown fresh off their Emmy nominations, announced on Thursday morning. Wood is up for her work on HBO’s “Westworld,” and Brown is nominated for NBC’s “This Is Us” and Fox’s “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

    “Frozen” grossed over $1.2 billion worldwide and won the Academy Award for best animated film in 2014. Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, and Josh Gad are returning to reprise their roles as Elsa, Anna, and Olaf.

    Directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck return to helm the film. Lee, who is penning the script as well was recently appointed chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studio after John Lasseter’s departure. She will split Lasseter’s duties with Pete Docter, who will oversee Pixar Animation Studios.

    “Frozen 2” is expected to hit theaters November 27, 2019.

  • Disney Movie Release Schedule Shake Up: Mary Poppins Returns, Maleficent 2 and More

    Disney Movie Release Schedule Shake Up: Mary Poppins Returns, Maleficent 2 and More

    Disney announced on Tuesday some major changes to its upcoming schedule of films. The changes include a release date for “Maleficent 2,” “as wall as new release dates for “Mary Poppins Returns,” the next “Indiana Jones” movie, a yet-to-be-announced Marvel movie and more.

    First, if you’re a Mary Poppins fan, then Christmas is coming early for you. Disney is moving up its anticipated musical “Mary Poppins Returns” by one week from Christmas Day to December 19.

    “Maleficent 2” finally has a released date and is scheduled to hit theaters on May 9, 2020. The long-awaited sequel for Angelina Jolie’s live-action “Maleficent” now takes the slot of a previously unspecified live-action title. That’s nearly six years after the $742 million domestic debut of “Maleficent.”

    “Indiana Jones 5” has been moved from July 10, 2020 to July 9, 2021. That means the fifth Harrison Ford adventure will open 13 years after Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and 19 years after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Ford will be just shy of 79-years old when the film opens in theaters.

    A previously “untitled Disney movie” with a release date of October 4, 2019 has been revealed to be the “Jungle Cruise” movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, which is based on the Disney theme park ride. That film is now setting sail one week later on October 11, 2019.

    Disney has multiple untitled slots on the schedule and a few of them have been changed too. An untitled Marvel movie has been moved up a bit from July 30, 2021 to February 12, 2021, while an untitled live-action movie originally set for July 9, 2021 will take that July 30 slot. Also, two untitled live-action movies slated for November 8, 2019 and February 21, 2021 have been removed from Disney’s schedule entirely.

    A finally, a long over due title change for Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet. Now the film is simply known as Ralph Breaks the Internet and is still dated for the Thanksgiving stretch on November 21.

    Disney’s movie release schedule is always dynamic and more changes could come at anytime. Stay tuned as we bring you all the latest updates.

  • Amy Adams Confirms ‘Enchanted’ Sequel Is Still In The Works

    Amy Adams Confirms ‘Enchanted’ Sequel Is Still In The Works

    Fans of Disney’s 2007 hit “Enchanted” starring Amy Adams as Giselle, the singing animated Disney princess who crosses over into the real world, just got some exciting news. During an appearance recently on The Talk, Adams gave an update on the status on Enchanted 2 confirming the long-in-the-works sequel is still in the works.

    “I am absolutely up for that,” Adams said when asked by co-host Sara Gilbert about reprising her role in a sequel. “We’re working on it — so hopefully.”

    While Adams was on The Talk panel promoting her HBO series Sharp Objects, she discussed “Enchanted” and where they are at with the sequel entitled “Disenchanted”. Take a look at the exchange below:

    Enchanted 2 has been in the works since 2014, but there has been no recent movement on the project at Disney; however, the sequel is still currently in development. Anne Fletcher was was originally set to helm a script written by J. David Stem and David N. Weiss.

    Now Adam Shankman is attached to direct and while Adams is ready to return to reprise her role, it’s still not clear if co-stars Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey, and Susan Sarandon are also on board.

    Back in 2007 Enchanted brought in $340 million worldwide for Disney and $127 million domestically.

  • Felicity Star Keri Russell In Talks To Join Cast of ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’

    Felicity Star Keri Russell In Talks To Join Cast of ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’

    Actress Keri Russell may be headed to a galaxy far far away as she is reportedly in talks to join Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Episode IX.

    The actress, who is well-known for playing the title role in Felicity, just wrapped the six seasons of The Americans and has reportedly been cast for an action-oriented role in J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars Episode IX, according to Variety.

    Abrams and Lucasfilm execs met with several actresses for the role in the past two months and settled on Russell right before the Fourth of July holiday. Abrams will likely cast two more actors by the time the film begins production at the end of the month.

    Star Wars: Episode IX is set to start production this summer ahead of its December 2019 release. The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams is returning to the director’s chair and is already turning to familiar faces to fill new roles in the film.

    Abrams and Russell have a long history of working together. They first teamed on The WB drama series Felicity way back in 1998, and then reunited for Mission: Impossible III, which served as Abrams’ feature directorial debut. When Abrams was prepping what would become Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Russell made it clear that she’d do anything to be a part of his take on the Star Wars universe and now it looks like she may get her chance.

    Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Kelly Marie Tran are all expected to reprise their roles as the heroes of the Resistance, facing down the First Order now under the command of Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren. But a full cast list has not yet been confirmed.