A look at the list of announced films coming from Walt Disney Studios—including Disney’s live-action and animated divisions, as well as Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, trademarks, and more—will tell you a few things. The biggest one is that the upcoming slate leans heavily toward sequels, reboots, remakes, and new entries in familiar series, something that the company’s CEO Bob Iger seemed to hint at on a recent earnings call.
“I wouldn’t say we have a priority one way or the other,” The Wrap reports he said in response to a question about whether the studio is more into originals or familiar titles. “Our priority is to put out great movies that ultimately resonate with consumers, and the more we can find and develop original properties, the better.”
But while Iger understands the value of “creating new IP,” he also has no intention of turning his back on Disney’s popular existing IP. He acknowledged that sequels and films that “bring [existing IP] forward in a more modern way, like we’ve done, or transform what was previously animation to live action, it’s just a great opportunity for the company and supports our franchises.”
He used the example of the live-action Moana in 2026. This series, in particular, is riding high after the success of the smash hit animated Moana 2 in 2024 , made even more impressive by the fact that it was originally intended as a Disney+ project rather than a theatrical release. It’s a perfect positive touchpoint for Disney shareholders, the audience for today’s earnings call.
That said, it might be a bit unfair to look at Disney’s upcoming calendar, which is filled with well-known IP, and say that Disney isn’t making an effort to make original films. Most of the films the studio has already released — from the upcoming Tron: Ares to the Avatar sequels, The Mandalorian and the groovy Slave to Toy Story 5 , Slave to Frozen III , and the upcoming Avengers movies — are those big franchise films that will benefit from fan excitement, even years in advance. And it’s no secret that Disney’s top priority is making money, just like every other Hollywood studio.
To get a real sense of whether Iger is telling the truth, you have to go a few years into the future, then look back at all the titles that were actually released during that time period. There may be more original films than we think. However, we should also note that Iger’s definition of what constitutes an “original” is not what you might expect. Like, say, Fantastic Four: First Steps in the Wildlands
He’s aware that other studios have made Fantastic Four movies before, of course. But also: “We consider it in many ways what we did to the original property, in that we’re introducing these characters to people who are not familiar with them at all.”
Lord… it’s a reboot. You did a reboot. What do you make of Iger’s remarks about Disney’s priorities when it comes to making original films?
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