D23 2026: Every Movie and TV Announcement From Disney's Biggest Fan Event

Disney’s D23 expo rolled into Anaheim this weekend and delivered one of the most packed entertainment showcases in the event’s history. The two-day fan convention brought announcements spanning Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney+ originals, with reveal after reveal landing back-to-back across Friday and Saturday night’s presentations. We already covered the X-Men cast bombshell separately, but there was far more on the table. Here’s everything else that matters.

Pixar’s Big Swing: Sequels and Originals

Pixar came to D23 with a slate that balances fan service with genuine creative ambition. The studio announced five projects spanning 2027 through 2029, and the range is wider than what we’ve seen from Pixar in recent years.

Gatto leads the charge as Pixar’s next theatrical release. Directed by Enrico Casarosa, who previously helmed Luca, the film follows Nero, a street-smart Venetian stray cat voiced by Mark Ruffalo, who finds himself indebted to a cat mob boss played by Laurence Fishburne. The concept art shown at the panel depicted Nero perched on a Venetian rooftop alongside a pigeon, with the city’s canals stretching below. It’s a departure from Pixar’s usual emotional family dramas, leaning into a crime-comedy tone that feels genuinely new for the studio. Casarosa’s Luca was praised for its Mediterranean atmosphere and gentle storytelling, so pairing that sensibility with a mob-cat premise could produce something unlike anything Pixar has made before. Release is set for March 5, 2027 (Mashable).

Ghost Market is Pixar’s first ghost movie, and the studio made a point of emphasizing that distinction during the panel. Directed by Trevor Jimenez and Jesse Andrews, it follows a young boy named Kyle living in Hawaii who stumbles upon a haunted market populated by what the filmmakers called “hungry ghosts.” Pete Docter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, showed concept art and a brief teaser during the presentation. Kyle himself reassures audiences in the footage that the film isn’t as nightmare-inducing as other scary movies, which suggests Pixar is aiming for the spooky-but-accessible register that worked for films like Coco’s Land of the Dead sequences. Release: spring 2028.

The Incredibles 3 marks the first entry in the franchise not directed by Brad Bird, who launched the series in 2004 and directed the sequel in 2018. Bird still wrote the script, but Peter Sohn, who directed Elemental, takes over directing duties. Pete Docter revealed concept art at D23 showing Violet and Dash in action, and the film focuses on the teenage siblings trying to prove they can be “big-time Supers” like their parents. Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter return as Bob and Helen Parr, with Sarah Vowell reprising Violet and Huck Milner returning as Dash. The shift in directorial voice could give the franchise a fresh energy, though Bird’s absence will be felt. June 16, 2028.

Coco 2 brings Miguel back as a teenager returning to the Land of the Dead, and the tone sounds considerably darker than the original. Benjamin Bratt confirmed at the D23 panel that he’s reprising his role as Ernesto de la Cruz, and the villainous singer is apparently on a warpath for vengeance against Miguel. The original Coco remains one of Pixar’s most emotionally devastating films, so the sequel has a high bar to clear. Director Adrian Molina, who co-directed the original, returns. November 2029.

The New Simpsons Movie arrives September 3, 2027, nearly two decades after The Simpsons Movie gave us Spider-Pig and the infamous “I am so smart” chanting. Early footage showed Homer chasing a ball at a baseball game in a sequence that escalates into seriously destructive results. The Simpsons have been on Disney+ since the Fox acquisition, but this marks the franchise’s return to theatrical animation. Given the show’s declining ratings in recent seasons, the movie serves as both a nostalgia play and a test of whether the brand still commands big-screen audiences.

Disney Animation Doubles Down on Sequels

Frozen 3 was the centerpiece of the Disney Animation presentation, and the studio went all out. Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel sang snippets of a foreboding new song that signals the franchise is moving into darker territory. Josh Gad performed a romantic number suggesting Olaf will get a love interest, which is either charming or deeply concerning depending on your feelings about snowman romance. New concept art and footage revealed the film takes place around Anna and Kristoff’s wedding, with a mysterious new villain threatening the celebration. The original Frozen earned $1.28 billion worldwide, and Frozen 2 hit $1.45 billion, so Disney has every financial incentive to keep this franchise going. November 24, 2027.

Zootopia 3 was announced with a title card but no release date, footage, or plot details. After Zootopia 2 expanded the world by introducing reptilian characters, the threequel has room to explore new biological categories and the social dynamics that come with them. The franchise has been Disney Animation’s most consistently successful non-Frozen property, blending buddy-cop comedy with social commentary in a way that appeals to both kids and adults.

The Bluey Movie also got a teaser trailer, showing Bluey and Bingo in a theatrical adventure that appears to take the Heeler family beyond their Brisbane neighborhood. Given the show’s massive global following and its reputation for emotionally intelligent storytelling, this is likely to be one of Disney Animation’s biggest theatrical releases in years. The show’s creator Joe Bringham has been protective of the brand, so the theatrical jump suggests the film meets the quality bar the series has set.

Live-Action Remakes and Reboots

Tangled live-action received a release date at the panel, though Disney didn’t share new footage, cast details, or a director announcement. The live-action remakes have been a mixed bag commercially and critically, but Tangled’s musical numbers and visual style translate well to live action. The question is whether Disney can recapture the charm of the animated original, which remains underrated compared to other Disney Renaissance-adjacent films.

Princess Diaries 3 brought Anne Hathaway to the D23 stage, where she confirmed she’s returning as Queen Mia Thermopolis. “Being part of the Disney family also means being part of a legacy studio that deeply values the family audience it makes content for,” Hathaway told the crowd. “It’s why we are working so hard to get The Princess Diaries 3 right. Thanks for your patience.” The bittersweet note: Julie Andrews, who played Mia’s grandmother Queen Clarice Renaldi, confirmed earlier in the week that she will not be reprising her role. Andrews’ warmth was a cornerstone of the first two films, so her absence leaves a significant gap. No release date yet.

Marvel: Beyond the X-Men Cast

The X-Men cast reveal dominated headlines, but Marvel had more to show at D23. Avengers: Doomsday received new footage that built on the hype from the first trailer. The panel included the first look at Mystique and Nightcrawler’s costumes, suggesting the film will feature a broader X-Men presence than initially expected. The Russo Brothers, who directed Infinity War and Endgame, are back at the helm, and the footage reportedly showed a tone closer to those films than the more scattered Phase 4 and 5 entries.

VisionQuest got its first trailer, revealing James Spader’s return as Ultron. The series follows Vision’s journey to understand his own consciousness after the events of WandaVision, and Spader’s presence suggests the show will dig into the AI villain’s philosophical dimensions rather than just delivering action set pieces. Ultron’s return raises questions about how the MCU plans to handle the character’s resurrection, particularly since Vision himself was rebuilt from Ultron’s original body.

Disney+ Series: Kingdom Hearts Gets an Anime

The biggest TV surprise was the announcement of a Kingdom Hearts anime adaptation, the first-ever anime version of the Square Enix game franchise. Coming to both Disney+ and Disney Channel, the series “reimagines the iconic adventure with a brand-new story” that will “expand on the universe of Kingdom Hearts while celebrating the characters that have captured the hearts of millions of fans around the world” according to Disney’s official description (Mashable). A first-look image of Sora and his Keyblade was released, but no voice cast, animation studio, or release date was shared. The Kingdom Hearts games have a notoriously convoluted storyline involving Disney worlds, Final Fantasy characters, and layers of metaphysical lore. Translating that into a coherent anime series is a genuine challenge, but the franchise’s dedicated fanbase guarantees an audience.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 3 got a new teaser adapting Rick Riordan’s The Titan’s Curse. The season introduces Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, played by Tamara Smart, and Bianca de Angelo, played by Olive Abercrombie. Annabeth Chase (Leah Sava Jeffries) has been kidnapped, and the teaser highlights Percy’s distraught reaction to that development. The Junkyard of the Gods sequence, a fan-favorite from the books, appears to be a major set piece. Season 2 wrapped up earlier this year to stronger reviews than the first, and the franchise seems to have found its footing on Disney+.

LEGO Mandalorian released a new trailer for the animated special, bringing the Din Djarin and Grogu story into a LEGO-fied format. The special appears to retell key moments from the live-action series with the franchise’s characteristic humor and visual style.

Theme Parks and Experiences

On the parks side, Disney confirmed the official name for Walt Disney World’s upcoming Magic Kingdom expansion: Villains Land. The area will feature a Maleficent coaster themed around Sleeping Beauty, an Evil Queen dark ride based on Snow White that will feature multiple villains, and appearances from Cruella de Vil and Dr. Facilier. No opening date was announced, but the expansion represents one of the largest investments in Magic Kingdom’s history.

Disney’s California Adventure also revealed a new Avatar boat ride attraction, expanding the park’s Avatar presence beyond the existing Flight of Passage. The boat ride appears to take guests through bioluminescent environments, though specific details were limited.

What It All Means

D23 2026 painted a picture of Disney doubling down on what works: sequels to beloved franchises, strategic use of Pixar’s creative pipeline, and aggressive expansion of Disney+ originals. The Kingdom Hearts anime is a genuine wildcard, a franchise adaptation that could either introduce the games to a new audience or confuse everyone who hasn’t played them. The Pixar slate is the most varied the studio has been in years, with originals like Ghost Market and Gatto sitting alongside the inevitable sequels.

For Marvel fans, the X-Men cast and Avengers footage suggest the MCU is entering a phase focused on ensemble storytelling again, after several years of scattered solo projects. And for animation fans generally, the sheer volume of projects announced spanning 2027 through 2029 means there’s something to look forward to every year for the foreseeable future.

The full D23 Entertainment Showcase is available to watch on Disney’s official YouTube channel.