By Editor-In-Chief Sarah Solano
Courtesy of Disney Enterprises
Announcement of all the new projects as well as sequels.
On Aug. 9-11, 2024, The Walt Disney Company held D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, at the Anaheim Convention Center and the Honda Center. The event is held once every two years, and one of its biggest and most popular factors is the announcements of new film and television projects coming from the company. This year in particular, many sequels and live-action remakes were announced. One can only wonder if Disney is beginning to run out of original ideas.
Fan expectations were high going into the announcements made at the event. However, while greatly anticipated, the announcements for new films and shows were oddly disappointing.
Disney announced close to 20 new projects for film and television, a majority of these are either sequels to already successful films of theirs, spin-offs, or live-action remakes.
Some of the sequels that were announced or previewed at the event include “Incredibles 3,” “Toy Story 5,” “Avatar 3,” “Moana 2,” “Frozen 3” and “Freakier Friday.” Some of the live-action remakes include “Snow White,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Monster Jam.”
In this category, only a small handful of original content was announced. These include the films “Elio” and “Hoppers,” and the television series “Win or Lose.”
The announcements left a bad taste in some fans’ mouths. Disney is simply sticking to characters and films they know have done and will continue to do well, instead of coming up with original ideas that they think the fans will enjoy just as much.
“The new movies coming out are honestly disappointing and seem like the easy way out for Disney,” junior Kristy Le said. “I want something new instead of dragging out movies that don’t necessarily need sequels to them.”
Disney has always provided a company that caters to their fans. They are constantly being relied on to keep the magic alive, and they have always tried their best to do so.
“[The fans] energy and enthusiasm fuels us and your passion drives us both to work even harder and to exceed your expectations,” CEO of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger said at the D23 Entertainment Showcase. “I speak for everyone at Disney when I say there is nothing that we love more than to entertain you, to thrill you, to surprise you…and we know that when we do that, we’re doing our jobs right.”
Although it is not a surprise that Disney has put a lot of thought and effort into their new projects, some find it sad and shocking that they are simply creating sequels, as it makes it appear as though they are afraid to try many new things at once. Many loyal Disney fans are so unhappy about the announcements that they have even begun to question Disney’s faithfulness to its origins.
“Walt Disney never wanted sequels,” X, formerly known as Twitter user @TheLazerOfficial said. “He didn’t believe in them and fast forward years later and Disney has so many sequels now.”
The lack of ideas from the Disney company is evident after this event, and it can only be questioned how well their new lineup of projects will do.
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