A glance at the list of announced films coming from Walt Disney Studios—including Disney’s live-action and animated divisions, plus Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and more—will tell you a few things. The biggest is that the upcoming slate leans heavily toward sequels, reboots, remakes, and new entries in well-known series, something the company’s CEO, Bob Iger, seemed to hedge against in a recent earnings call.
“I wouldn’t say that we’ve got a priority one way or the other,” The Wrap reports he said in response to a question about whether or not the studio is leaning more into original 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 property, the better.”
But while Iger understands the value of “creating new IP,” he’s also not about to turn his back on Disney’s popular existing IP, either. He acknowledged that sequels and films that “bring [existing IP] forward in a more modern way, as we’ve done, or convert what was previously animation to live action… it’s just a great opportunity for the company and supports our franchises.”
He used the live-action Moana, due in 2026, as an example. That series in particular is riding high after 2024’s smash hit animation Moana 2, an achievement made even more impressive because it was originally intended to be a Disney+ project rather than a theatrical release. It’s the perfect positive focal point for Disney shareholders, the audience for today’s earnings call.
That said, it may be a bit unfair to peek at Disney’s future calendar, which is stuffed full of well-known IP, and declare that Disney isn’t making an effort to create original films. Most of the films the studio dates well in advance—from the upcoming Tron: Ares to the Avatar sequels, The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5, Frozen III, and the next Avengers films—are those big franchise films that will benefit from fan excitement, even years in advance. And it’s no secret Disney’s top priority is making money, same as every other Hollywood studio.
To get a true feeling for whether or not Iger is speaking the truth, you’d need to time-warp into the future a few years, then look back at all the titles that actually got released over a certain span of time. Maybe there’d be more original movies than we think. However, we must also note that Iger’s definition of what constitutes “original” is not what you might expect. Like, say, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
He’s aware other studios have made Fantastic Four movies before, of course. But also: “We kind of consider the one that we did an original property in many respects, because we’re introducing those characters to people who are not familiar with them at all.”
Sir… that is a reboot. You made a reboot. What do you make of Iger’s remarks regarding Disney’s priorities when it comes to making original films?
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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