The Most Exciting Films and Series Coming From Disney & Marvel
Disney’s Investor Day presentation was probably the biggest reveal of exciting projects since 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con. There was just an absolute deluge of news, and so much of it was thrilling. On the Marvel side of the coin, we got our first look at Loki, our first look at The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the bittersweet news that Marvel will not recast Chadwick Boseman’s role in Black Panther II. Over in a galaxy far, far, away, we got a sneak peek at the upcoming Disney+ series Andor, and a slew of reveals on massive projects and the folks behind them. Gang, this was just a drop in the bucket.
To help you better get a grasp on everything coming out of Disney and Marvel, we’ve highlighted some of the key upcoming movies and shows.
All things Star Wars
Disney’s Investor Day could have been called Disney’s Galaxy Far, Far Away Day (yeah, this pun didn’t work, but whatever). The number of Star Wars shows and films in the works is staggering. To our mind, the biggest news was that Wonder Woman 1984 co-writer and director Patty Jenkins will be helming a brand new film called Rogue Squadron. Jenkins will be the first female director of a Star Wars film in the franchise’s history. Rogue Squadron will focus on X-Wing pilots and is due to hit theaters on December 22, 2023. There’s also Oscar-winner and world builder extraordinaire Taika Waititi’s upcoming Star Wars film, which is expected to be released sometime after Rogue Squadron hits screens.
Yet there’s so much more. There will be two spin-offs from Disney+’s juggernaut success that is The Mandalorian. One of those will be Ahsoka (played by Rosario Dawson), following one of the most intriguing Jedis in the business. The second series is titled Rangers of the New Republic, and everyone hopes Timothy Olyphant’s brief turn as a sheriff of sorts in The Mandalorian was an appetizer for his appearing as one of Rangers of the New Republic’s stars. These series will join Andor, starring Diego Luna reprising his Rogue One role as the rebel spy Cassian Andor; and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the new series tracking Ewan McGregor’s turn as Obi-Wan. The biggest news surrounding Obi-Wan Kenobi the return of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, who we last saw getting fitted for his iconic helmet at the end of Revenge of the Sith.
There’s more! One of the series we’re most excited for is Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland’s female-centered series, which will be set in the “High Republic.” Hold on, there’s another really exciting new series coming from a great creator—Lando, following everybody’s favorite rogue Lando Calrissian, from Dear White People creator Justin Simien. It’s not yet clear if Donald Glover will reprise his role as Lando.
On the animated front, you’ve got The Bad Batch, a spin-off from The Clone Wars from Dave Filoni, and A Droid Story, which will reveal a new droid protagonist alongside old-timers R2-D2 and C-3P0. Here’s a glimpse at The Bad Batch:
The Mighty Marvel Universe
Along with the aforementioned The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (March) and Loki (May), the first Marvel series out of the gates for Marvel will be WandaVision, coming to Disney+ on January 15. It’s now confirmed that Hailee Steinfeld is playing Kate Bishop in Hawkeye (due later in 2021). Then there’s Ironheart, starring Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, an up-and-coming Tony Stark-like character, and Amor Wars, with Don Cheadle returning to his role as War Machine and dealing with Tony Stark’s technology winding up in the wrong hands.
Or how about Secret Invasion, which features the dream team of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn’s shape-shifting Kree alien Talos (!). Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn will introduce a series of shorts called I Am Groot, about, yes, Groot. That’ll drop before Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 arrives in 2023. There’s also Moon Knight (starring Oscar Isaac), She-Hulk (with Tatiana Maslany in the title role, with Tim Roth and the Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, co-starring), and Ms. Marvel (starring Iman Vellani). Here’s the second trailer for WandaVision and a brief glimpse at Ms. Marvel:
Of course, these projects were just some of the titles highlighted during Investor Day. We haven’t even mentioned the rest of Marvel’s Phase 4 slate, which includes Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 2, Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel 2, Chloé Zhao’s Eternals, and Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
One Series That Has Nothing To Do With Star Wars or Marvel
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Fargo and Legion mastermind Noah Hawley’s upcoming series based on Ridley Scott’s game-changing Alien (Scott is set to work on the show with him.) All that we know thus far is that the series will take place on Earth. This sounds awesome.
So there you have it! And that was really just a skim of all the news that came out of Disney’s Investor Day, but we think we covered some of the most exciting upcoming titles. As always, we’ll share more when we know more.
Featured image: Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen in ‘WandaVision.’ Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved/Disney+
