Disney president and CCO Dana Walden has shut down speculation that the company plans to acquire Epic Games outright, stating that "those are not the conversations we are having right now." The comments came at Bloomberg's Screentime event last week, where Walden emphasized that both companies are currently focused on launching collaborative experiences to prove the value of their existing partnership.
Disney has reportedly selected Jon Watts to direct the first film in Simon Kinberg's new Star Wars trilogy, positioned as the next chapter in the Skywalker Saga. The project remains early in development without an official greenlight, though sources say it is further along than most other Star Wars film projects currently in the works.
Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani will host a five-episode official podcast counting down to Avengers: Doomsday, debuting August 27 on Disney+ and other platforms. The series will recap key MCU moments before the film launches December 18.
Star Wars: Smuggler's Gambit launches August 16 as a free Fortnite experience that connects directly to Disney's Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run ride through MyDisney account linking. The PvE multiplayer game features three classes mirroring the ride's roles, five mission types, and Hondo Ohnaka voiced by Jim Cummings anchoring the hub world on Ord Ryla.
Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni confirmed at D23 2026 that Disney is not currently developing the scrapped Star Wars movie The Hunt for Ben Solo. The project, which would have brought back Adam Driver as Kylo Ren with Steven Soderbergh directing, remains shelved despite months of fan campaigning.
Ahsoka Season 2 will premiere on Disney+ on January 20, 2027, arriving three-and-a-half years after the first season debuted. The release window was confirmed at the D23 fan event alongside a debut trailer. Rosario Dawson returns as the titular Jedi, joined by Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and Rory McCann stepping into the role of Baylan Skoll.
Square Enix unveiled a new Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer at D23 2026 confirming a late 2027 release window and a Pixar's Coco world. A Disney+ anime series co-developed with Tetsuya Nomura is also in production, with a developer panel set for August 15.
X-Men '97 Season 2 concludes with "Survival of the Fittest," an episode that delivers spectacular mutant-on-mutant action but fumbles the season's primary villain. The finale's brief Apocalypse confrontation feels anticlimactic compared to the original series' "Beyond Good and Evil" arc, while Nightcrawler's sacrifice provides the episode's only genuine emotional payoff.
Toy Story 5 heads to digital platforms on August 18, 2026, following a theatrical run that pushed the Pixar sequel past $1 billion globally. Physical editions arrive September 22 with multiple collector's sets, while Disney+ streaming is estimated for mid-September.
Dwayne Johnson has responded to the harsh critical reception of Disney's live-action Moana remake, which holds a 31% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes despite an 88% audience rating. The film opened to just $95 million globally against a $250 million budget, but Johnson emphasizes the cultural significance of Polynesian representation on screen.
