Disney has set the release dates for some of its biggest tentpole movies for 2025 and 2026, including its new “Star Wars” film, a fifth “Toy Story,” and “Tron: Ares.”
“The Mandalorian & Grogu,” the spinoff from the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” starring Pedro Pascal, will hit theaters May 22, 2026. “Toy Story 5” will open in theaters on June 19, 2026, and “Tron: Ares,” the third “Tron” movie that will star Jared Leto, will open October 10, 2025.
Disney also delayed the release of its live-action “Moana” with Dwayne Johnson to make room for the looming release of the animated “Moana 2” at the end of this year. The live-action “Moana” will now open in theaters July 10, 2026, delayed from June 2025.
Disney also delayed the release of “The Amateur,” a 20th Century Studios title starring Caitriona Balfe. That movie was meant to open on November 8, 2024 but will now open April 11, 2025. Disney and Searchlight Pictures also announced earlier this morning that “Nightbitch” starring Amy Adams will open December 6, 2024.
Jon Favreau is directing the “Mandalorian & Grogu” movie, which is the first “Star Wars” feature since “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019. There have been starts and stops with various “Star Wars” movies that never got off the ground, so the hope is that a feature that extends the popular series will be a good first start. Others in the works include a film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and another from James Mangold. Obaid-Chinoy will be the first female filmmaker to direct a “Star Wars” movie with the upcoming sequel to “The Rise of Skywalker” marking Daisy Ridley’s return as Rey. It hasn’t been decided yet, but one of those will be released December 18, 2026, and the other will hit theaters Dec. 17, 2027.
Little is known about “Toy Story 5,” but Disney CEO Bob Iger announced the sequel back in early 2023 alongside a third and fourth “Frozen” movie and a “Zootopia” sequel. Pixar has “Inside Out 2” arriving this summer on June 14 and its original film “Elio” coming on June 13, 2025.
“Tron: Ares” is directed by Joachim Rønning and is the follow-up to “Tron: Legacy” from 2010. The new sequel stars Jared Leto, who plays the computer program Ares as he attempts to move from the digital world to the human one. Sean Bailey, who this year exited as Disney’s live-action film chief after 15 years, is still producing that film, as he did with “Tron: Legacy.”
Disney should have more updates to share on these titles and its other upcoming releases when CinemaCon kicks off next week in Las Vegas.
