We haven’t even gotten to Thanksgiving yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some holiday-themed entertainment, right? And if you’re looking for something to help get your heart ready for Christmas, you have to look no further, as Taika Waititi’s “The Boy and the Octopus” has you covered.

READ MORE: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch

As seen in the new short (which you can watch below), “The Boy and the Octopus” tells the story of a young boy who goes swimming on vacation.

Continue reading Watch Taika Waititi’s New Disney Holiday-Themed Short Film ‘The Boy & The Octopus’ at The Playlist.

We all know that Chris Hemsworth is a handsome, charming man. So, it makes complete sense that Disney would want to hire him to be Prince Charming. And that’s exactly what has happened.

READ MORE: ‘Crime 101’: Halle Berry In Talks To Join Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo & Barry Keoghan On Amazon MGM’s Upcoming Crime Pic

According to Deadline, Chris Hemsworth is set to star in Paul King’s upcoming film, “Prince Charming.” Not much is known about the project at this time.

Continue reading ‘Prince Charming’: Chris Hemsworth To Star In Paul King’s Live-Action Disney Film at The Playlist.

As 2024’s release calendar reaches its final months, it’s time for studios to finish plotting when upcoming films will hit theaters in 2025.  Disney did just that today for a couple of things. Deadline reports the studio has official theater premiere dates for the “Freakier Friday” and their live-action “Lilo & Stitch” film: the Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan sequel will bow on August 8, 2025, while “Lilo & Stitch” moves up from that date to May 23, 2025.

Continue reading Disney Dates Sequel ‘Freakier Friday’ & Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’ For Summer 2025 Theatrical Releases at The Playlist.

It’s hard to believe, but the original “Moana” was released eight years ago. That’s a long time for a film that feels like it’s still relatively “new.” Alas, it’s been quite a while, which makes it the perfect time for Disney to release a sequel.

READ MORE: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch

As seen in the trailer, “Moana 2” tells the story of the title character as she goes on another sea-faring adventure to go battle an evil entity to help bring her people together again.

Continue reading ‘Moana 2’ Trailer: Auli‘i Cravalho & Dwayne Johnson Reunite In Disney’s Upcoming Animated Sequel at The Playlist.

After first starting out as a series for Disney+, “Moana 2” is now a real full-blown feature-length film. This is thanks in part to Disney chief Bob Iger’s recommendation to turn the once Disney+ “Moana” series into a movie. Iger’s decision can be seen partly due to Disney’s recent pivot from Disney+ content to more theatrical releases.

Continue reading ‘Moana 2’ Trailer: Dwayne Johnson and Auliʻi Cravalho Return In The Anticipated Sequel Disney’s Beloved Animated Film at The Playlist.

If Disney Animation felt like it was falling into disrepair in the late 2010s, everything changed in 2013 with the animated feature “Frozen,” which began a newfound renaissance period for Disney that included the success of “Moana.” Collectively, the two “Frozen” films have grossed $2.7 billion worldwide, and “Frozen II” is the 14th highest-earning film of all time. But more is coming, including a “Frozen III” and “Frozen IV.”

READ MORE: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 New Movies To Watch

Initially due in 2026, according to Disney’s CEO Bob Iger, during one of their many investor calls at the recent D23 Expo, Disney casually revealed a new “Frozen III” release date of 2027, never really explaining the year-long delay.

Continue reading Director Jennifer Lee Confirms ‘Frozen 3’ & ‘4’ Are Being Made At The Same Time at The Playlist.

A return to Pandora is on the horizon. Disney really went for broke during their D23 Expo. Filmmaker James Cameron took to the stage to tease “Avatar 3” and the director revealed a new title for the movie, “Avatar: Fire And Ash.”

“I came 7,000 miles from New Zealand for this,” Cameron told the crowd, but wasn’t ready to unveil any new footage yet.

Continue reading ‘Avatar 3’ Titled ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’; Ke Huy Quan Join ‘Zootopia 2’ [D23] at The Playlist.

One of the hotly anticipated shows set to arrive in 2025 is the second season of “Andor.” At D23, fans were treated to a trailer and featurette for the upcoming sci-fi series that serves as a prequel to “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” though unfortunately, it wasn’t placed online. While initially expected to arrive at the end of 2024, it was pushed back mainly due to the actors’ and writers’ strikes in 2023. But the wait is almost over.

Continue reading ‘Andor’ Season 2: ‘Star Wars’ Series Returns In 2025; Alan Tudyk & Ben Mendelsohn Confirmed at The Playlist.

Pixar Animation Studios’ Chief creative officer, Peter Docter, also the director of “Inside Out,” “Up,” and “Soul,” said earlier today that the animation company would reveal the existence of a new animated film in Anaheim tonight. Sure enough, at Disney’s D23 Expo, Pixar announced a new film called “Hoppers,” which has been dated for March 6, 2026.

Continue reading Pixar Announces New 2026 ‘Hoppers’ Film; ‘Toy Story 5’ Gets Teaser & First Look [D23] at The Playlist.

If it’s not evident from announcements made earlier this winter, Disney really tried to dazzle Wall Street and its investors on its fiscal first-quarter earnings call for 2024 (the stock spiked, so the gambit seemed to work). Disney CEO Bob Iger announced “Toy Story 5,” “Frozen 3,” and, of course, the surprise declaration of “Moana 2,” which is ready and coming out in the fall.

Continue reading ‘Moana 2’ Trailer: Dwayne Johnson & Auli’i Cravalho Return To Voice Disney’s Animated Sequel On November 27 [D23] at The Playlist.

It’s a slow Friday in August, and Walt Disney Studios has taken the opportunity to update its future calendar, including a rash of new mystery dates for 2026 and 2027. Of course, that does get into some significant Marvel Studios updates.

The first real change, however, is the Searchlight Pictures contender, “A Real Pain,” which was a big hit at Sundance earlier this year and could be a dark horse Oscar runner.

Continue reading Marvel Adds Two 2027 Films, Drops One 2026 Title, In Disney Release Update at The Playlist.

Jim Cummings is one of our favorite indie filmmakers working today. He makes wholly unique projects that are funny, heartbreaking, and sometimes sweet. So, we were delighted to see that Cummings has a new short film that he released on X. And holy shit, it’s hilarious.

READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2024 So Far: ‘Challengers,’ ‘Civil War,’ ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ & More

You can watch the entire 11-minute short on X now, titled “Is Now a Good Time?

Continue reading ‘Is Now A Good Time?’: Watch Jim Cummings’ New Short Satire About Marvel/Disney at The Playlist.

It’s wild to think about this now, especially as people are predicting massive opening weekend numbers for “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Still, there was a time, shortly after the Disney acquisition of Fox, when people thought the “Deadpool” franchise was dead. Thoughts about how Disney would want it to be PG-13 or wouldn’t want to inherit the universe that was created? Basically, people thought there might not be another ‘Deadpool’ film. And one of those people was none other than Ryan Reynolds.

Continue reading Ryan Reynolds Didn’t Know If He Would ‘Ever Be Playing Deadpool Again” After Disney/Fox Merger at The Playlist.

It’s no secret that theaters are struggling, and 2024 was shaping up to be another disappointing year. You know it’s a rough year when we’re already at the end of June, and “Dune: Part Two” is the highest grossing film worldwide ($711 million). Or should we say “was” the highest grossing film, thanks to the monster success of Disney/Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.”

READ MORE: ‘Inside Out’: Pixar CCO Pete Docter Confirms A Spinoff Series Will Hit Disney+ In 2025

That’s right, in only its second week of release, “Inside Out 2” has passed “Dune: Part Two” to become the biggest film, not only domestically, but worldwide as well.

Continue reading ‘Inside Out 2’ Has Record-Breaking Second Weekend & Has Already Passed ‘Dune 2’ As Biggest Of 2024 at The Playlist.

I’ve been staring at the edge of the water…The story of “Moana 2” is indicative of where the movie industry is headed, and the short version is: back in theaters. Effectively, “Moana 2” was initially scheduled to be an animated series for Disney+. However, a few years after the pandemic, Disney realized the economics of streaming had changed in the eyes of Wall Street, and the company had to pivot back to theatrical releases as its core business.

Continue reading ‘Moana 2’ Trailer: Dwayne Johnson & Auliʻi Cravalho Return For Disney’s Animated Sequel In November at The Playlist.

Everyone’s favorite podcasters are back. Today, following Prime Video’s impressive TV Upfronts presentation to advertisers, Disney’s similarly flexing Upfront showcase featured many updates from the world of many of their properties. One of the first major teasers that arrived was from Hulu and the fourth season of their hit comedy, “Only Murders In The Building.”

READ MORE: Summer TV Preview: Over 35 Must-See Series To Watch

Spoilers!

Continue reading ‘Only Murders In The Building’ Teaser Trailer: Season 4 Arrives August 27 On Hulu at The Playlist.

An iconic sci-fi star is joining a legendary science-fiction fantasy series. Sigourney Weaver, known for her turn as Ellen Ripley in the “Alien” series, has been cast in the upcoming “Star Wars” film, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” according to THR.

There’s no word on who Weaver might play, and there are almost no plot details about the ‘Mando & Grogu’ film available.

Continue reading ‘Star Wars’: Sigourney Weaver Joins ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ Film at The Playlist.

It’s not really news to say that Disney CEO Bob Iger is going to be a bit more hands-on with Marvel Studios in the future. The executive has made several comments in the past about reducing the number of projects the studio releases, as well as making sure the films and TV series that are released are of the best quality. But up to now, that’s all soundbites and rhetoric.

Continue reading Disney CEO Says Marvel Will Reduce Output To 3 Films & 2 Shows Max Per Year at The Playlist.

Filmmaker Barry Jenkins has made celebrated indies (“Medicine for Melancholy”), Academy Award-winning dramas (“Moonlight,” “If Beale Street Could Talk”), and an epic ten-part historical period series (“The Underground Railroad”), but his latest film, “Mufasa: The Lion King,” is easily his biggest and most ambitious leap to date. A live-action-styled photorealistic animated prequel to the 1994 film “The Lion King,” and the similar-looking 2019 remake from director Jon Favreau, Disney has released the first look trailer for the film that comes out in December.

Continue reading ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Trailer: Barry Jenkins’ Live-Action Prequel Arrives In December at The Playlist.

Today, Andscape, the Black multimedia platform from Disney and ESPN, known as the premier platform for exploring the intersections of race, sports, and culture,” announced the new anthology franchise “&360,” which explores the massive influence of Black culture on American society. The franchise will premiere with the documentary feature “Hip-Hop And The White House, directed by Jesse Washington and featuring Jeezy, whose song “My President” was a significant hip-hop political touchstone.

Continue reading ‘Hip-Hop And The White House’ Trailer: New Doc Feat. Common, Rep Maxine Waters, Jeezy Debuts April 22 On Hulu [Exclusive] at The Playlist.

Daisy Ridley‘s acting career since “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker” has been, let’s say, uneven. Sure, “Sometimes I Think About Dying” is a provocative character study and a solid performance by the actress. But then there’s stuff Doug Liman‘s dismal “Chaos Walking” and “The Marsh King’s Daughter,” two films not exactly tailor-made for Ridley’s talents.  

Continue reading ‘Young Woman And The Sea’ Trailer: Inspiring Historical Drama Starring Daisy Ridley Hits Select Theaters On May 31 at The Playlist.

CinemaCon begins next Monday, and Disney has a tease for what fans should expect during their presentation next week. The studio now has official theatrical release dates for a handful of upcoming films, including Lucasfilm‘s first “Star Wars” movie in theaters since 2019. Read on to discover what gets released and when.

READ MORE: Disney Announces ‘Toy Story 5,’ ‘Frozen 3,’ & ‘Mandalorian & Grogu’ For 2026 & More

Jon Favreau‘s “The Mandalorian & Grogu“ will hit big screens everywhere on May 22, 2026.

Continue reading Disney Dates ‘Mandalorian & Grogu,’ ‘Toy Story 5’ & Live-Action ‘Moana’ For Summer 2026 at The Playlist.

With nearly five decades of popular cinema under his belt, Jerry Bruckheimer remains one of Hollywood’s heavyweight billion-dollar producers. The mega-producer is still basking in the afterglow of the massive box office and critical reception of “Top Gun: Maverick,” and a third film in the works. Bruckheimer’s now promoting his latest movie, Guy Ritchie’s action-comedy “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” and speaking with ComicBook.com, he revealed the status of the next installment of Disney’s “Pirates of The Caribbean” franchise. 

Continue reading ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Producer Jerry Bruckheimer Confirms Next Film Will Be A Reboot at The Playlist.

Does Gina Carano deserve what happened to her? In a new interview with THR, the “Star Wars” actress spoke about her dismissal from “The Mandalorian,” her ongoing lawsuit against Disney and Lucasfilm, and her focus on “clearing my name.” Carano lost her role as “Cara Dune” on the popular Disney+ series in February 2021, after the actress’s several controversial social media posts led to Lucasfilm dropping her.

Continue reading Gina Carano Calls Her Dismissal From ‘The Mandalorian’ “One Of The Most Aggressive Unnecessary Cancellations In Hollywood History” at The Playlist.

Following Disney chief Bob Iger’s very recent admission that the company had quietly canceled several projects that they didn’t wholeheartedly believe in the last few months amid belt-tightening and scaling back, a picture of what some of those projects might be is starting to emerge.

In an in-depth piece from The Wrap about soon-to-be-former Disney executive Sean Bailey and his legacy— exiting after 15 years as the motion picture group’s president of production, a big shake-up in the company— some details of what may have already been put out to pasture are becoming more apparent.

Continue reading Sarah Polley No Longer Directing Disney’s Live-Action ‘Bambi’ Adaptation Amid Disney Changes at The Playlist.