Disney’s D23 announcements – The Force Awakens, Toy Story 4, Doctor Strange, Finding Dory and more!

If you felt that Comic-Con didn’t lift the lid on Disney’s upcoming works enough than D23 is for you. The expo of all things Disney enlightened us on all of their properties from Star Wars to Pixar to Marvel and all of the studio’s very own animated and live action features. Sadly there’s been no word on the likes of in the works projects such as Wreck-It Ralph 2, Frozen 2 or proposed remakes of Dumbo and Pinocchio. Firstly…

Pixar!

After critical and commercial triumph of Inside Out, the studio is rolling out its slate of six upcoming movies. The Good Dinosaur will tell the story of an alternate reality where humans are the Earth’s secondary species and dinosaurs still rule. It comes from director Peter Sohn (Partly Cloudy) and stars Anna Paquin (X-Men), Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) and Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading). November 25th 2015

Thirteen years after Finding Nemo, Finding Dory will pick up with the characters of the previous instalment when Dory finds herself in a marine study institute. Newly announced cast members include Hayden Rolence (Whom I Fear), Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) and Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) and Angus MacLane (Toy Story of Terror) direct the cast of Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen), Albert Brooks (Drive), Diane Keaton (The Godfather), Eugene Levy (American Pie), Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Dominic West (The Wire), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man). June 17th 2016

Toy Story 4 is also on the way and a teaser poster graced and it was revealed that it will focus on a love story between Woody and Bo Peep. John Lasseter (Toy Story 1-2) and Josh Cooley (George and AJ) direct while we expect Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), Joan Cusack (Say Anything) and Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest) to star. June 16th 2017

Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) has long been developing a film centred on the Mexican celebration of The Day of the Dead. It has finally been given a release date and a title, Coco. No casting announcements have yet been made. November 22nd 2017

Another sequel on the way is Cars 3. No plot details were offered but we do know that John Lasseter (Cars 1-2) will write and we’d expect Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers) and Larry the Cable Guy (Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector) to reprise their roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater respectively. June 15th 2018

The sequel Pixar fans have actually asking for will finally come out, 15 years after they asked for it. Assuming that the studio don’t want two sequels in the same year, The Incredibles 2 will head for a 2019 release. Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) will direct while we’d expect Craig T Nelson (Poltergeist), Holly Hunter (The Piano) and Samuel L Jackson (Avengers Assemble) to star.

Next up…

Disney Animation!

Disney’s latest animation Zootopia will portray a metropolis populated by mammals. Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) were already set to star but the latest addition is pop star/actress Shakira. The directors are Byron Howard (Tangled), Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph) and Jared Bush (behind the creative team of Big Hero 6). March 4th 2016

Next, the team behind Aladdin, Hercules and The Princess and the Frog arrived to unveil more from their latest work, Moana. Dwayne Johnson (Fast Five) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) will star in the story of a plucky young woman who is assisted by a demi-god to reach a fabled island. November 23rd 2016

The newest announcement was Gigantic. Tangled‘s Nathan Greno will collaborate with Frozen’s songwriters, Robert and Kristen Lopez to bring the story of Jack and the Beanstalk to Spain in the age of exploration. March 9th 2018

Following that was…

Disney live action (aka Worlds, Galaxies and Universes)

True life disaster thriller The Finest Hours will depict the struggle for survival of a group of sailors in 1952. Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm) directs with a cast including Chris Pine (Star Trek Into Darkness), Ben Foster (Lone Survivor), Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Holliday Grainger (Cinderella) and Eric Bana (Munich). January 29th 2016

The latest adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book was promoted by director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) as well as Oscar winning stars Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and newcomer Neel Sethi. The classic story of an orphan raised by the animals of the jungle also stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers Assemble), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim), Bill Murray (Ghostbusters), Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects) and Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter). April 15th 2016

Alice Through the Looking Glass will build upon the established world built in the Lewis Carroll books and the Tim Burton’s 2010 billion dollar hit. James Bobin (The Muppets) directs a cast featuring Mia Wasikowska (Crimson Peak), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), Alan Rickman (Die Hard), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon), Andrew Scott (Pride), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Toby Jones (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Lindsay Duncan (About Time), Stephen Fry (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) and Timothy Spall (Mr Turner). May 27th 2016

Next up was the family fantasy adventure Pete’s Dragon, about a young boy who seeks refuge from his family with a dragon. David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) directs while the film stars Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Wes Bentley (Interstellar), Karl Urban (Dredd) and Robert Redford (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). August 12th 2016

Two films delivered no material as such but were teased or mentioned. Firstly, Queen of Katwe – a drama about a girl from Uganda who trains to become a world chess champion. Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and David Oyelowo (Selma) will star with director Mira Nair (The Namesake). 2016

Also, Disney’s new iteration of Beauty and the Beast was present. The reboot (telling the story of a relationship between a monstrous prince and a young woman) is directed by Bill Condon (Mr Holmes) and stars Emma Watson (Harry Potter), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Luke Evans (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Josh Gad (Frozen), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle), Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting), Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wonda), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) and Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings). March 17th 2017

Finally, there was news from the fifth instalment of a legendary franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. This one will see Captain Jack in search of the trident of Poseidon. Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings) was announced to be returning as Will Turner for the first time since 2007. The duo of Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki) direct an ensemble including Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner), Brendon Thwaites (Maleficent), David Wenham (300), Stephen Graham (This is England) and Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men). July 17th 2017

Marvel

We won’t include Marvel’s full extensive line up but two of their instalments next year. Because of the studio’s infamous secrecy, none of the material shown has made it to the public. Captain America: Civil War showed off its trailer to the D23 audience. Anthony and Joe Russo (The Winter Soldier) direct with a cast including Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Daniel Bruhl (Rush), Sebastian Stan (Black Swan), Frank Grillo (The Purge: Anarchy), Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Tom Holland (The Impossible), William Hurt (Artificial Intelligence) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit). April 29th 2016

Doctor Strange is another of Marvel’s latest. Scott Derickson (Sinister) directs the supernatural thriller of which the recent concept art many likened to Inception. Marvel head Kevin Feige (Iron Man trilogy) could neither confirm or deny the rumours of Rachel McAdams joining the film but we do know that Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave). November 4th 2016

Star Wars

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was heralded by this stunning poster from Drew Struzan – the legendary poster designer who craft iconic works for Back to the Future and Blade Runner. JJ Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness) directs a cast including Harrison Ford (Blade Runner), Mark Hamill (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Carrie Fisher (When Harry Met Sally), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Toast of London), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Adam Driver (Frances Ha) and Max Von Sydow (Shutter Island). December 18th 2015

The first spin-off has had a full title announcement, cast reveals and first still. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has added to its ranks Alan Tudyk (Serenity), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Wen Jiang (Devils on the Doorstep) and Mads Mikkelson (Casino Royale). Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will direct with the cast of Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Ben Mendelsohn (Killing Them Softly), Diego Luna (Elysium), Jonathan Aris (Sherlock), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland). December 16th 2017

There wasn’t any news on Star Wars: Episode VIII – directed by Looper’s Rian Johnson and coming out May 26th 2017 – or the Han Solo spin off – directed by 21 Jump Street’s Phil Lord and Chris Miller and coming out May 25th 2018.

It was revealed that the third and final instalment of the new sequel trilogy (Star Wars: Episode IX) will be directed by Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) but the returning cast members are yet to be announced!

Weekend box-office – 18th to 24th of April 2015 – can Furious 7 speed ahead again?

Furious 7’s mega opening in the US last week is already the biggest since 2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. This week, the all star action sequel faces a clear week with little opposition besides the Nicholas Sparks’ (The Notebook, Dear John) romantic drama The Longest Ride. Meanwhile in the UK there’s a rush more small openers like legal drama Woman in Gold, war thriller Good Kill, comedy sequel Hot Tub Time Machine 2 and action flick John Wick ahead of the Avengers’ behemoth release. Find last week’s predictions here.

US:

1. Fast & Furious 7 – Director: James Wan – $59.6 million
2. Home – Tim Johnson – $18.5 million
3. The Longest Ride – George Tillman Jr – $13 million
4. Get Hard – Etan Cohen – $8.2 million
5. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – $7.1 million

UK:

1. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan – £5.4 million
2. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh – £1.8 million
3. Home – Tim Johnson – £1.5 million
4. The Duff – Ari Sandel – £0.9 million
5. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – Phil Tibbitt – £0.7 million

Furious 7 wins again while the UK’s only new entry is high school comedy The Duff. This week I’ve scored 6/10.

US:

1. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan
2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – Andy Fickman
3. Child 44 – Daniel Espinosa
4. Home – Tim Johnson
5. Unfriended – Levan Gabriadze

UK:

1. Fast & Furious 7 – James Wan
2. Child 44 – Daniel Espinosa
3. Cinderella – Kenneth Branagh
4. Home – Tim Johnson
5. A Little Chaos – Alan Rickman

Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel in Fast & Furious 7, this week’s US and UK number ones.

Alice 2 casts Hatter’s father and Maisie Richardson Sellers added to Star Wars rumours

This month, we’re expecting the cast list for Star Wars: Episode VII to drop dramatically soon as the stars a finally revealed. So far, we know that Michael B Jordan, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Soairse Ronan, Gary Oldman, Jesse Plemons, Matt Smith, Sullivan Stapleton, Jack Reynor, Adam Driver, Jack O’Connell, Matthew James Thomas, John Boyega, Ed Speelers, Ray Fisher, Jason Flemyng, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender and Hugo Weaving have been, in some way, rumoured and attached to JJ Abrams’ (Star Trek Into Darkness, Lost, Super 8, Felicity, Alias) reboot alongside the original’s Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Warwick Davis, Billy Dee Williams and Peter Mayhew.

It’s at this point that we introduce Maisie Richardson Sellers, an actress who’s only credit is in short film Our First World. The Hollywood Reporter states that she’s being considered for the female lead in the film. Sellers isn’t at all well known so we can expect that she came into Disney’s radar with the numerous auditions that took place all over Britain. Like I said, we genuinely can’t be too far from the official cast announcements so stay on Tuorhoth Movies for any updates.

The Muppets and Flight of the Conchords’ James Bobin takes over directing duties from Tom Burton for Alice in Wonderland’s sequel Through the Looking Glass. We know that Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska and Helena Bonham Carter will return, Sacha Baron Cohen has been rumoured for a role and we can expect the first film’s Anne Hathaway, Alan Rickman, Matt Lucas and Crispin Glover to return. We can know confirm that The Other Boleyn Girl’s Mark Rylance has joined the cast as Mad Hatter’s (Depp) father. The original’s reception was varied and it’ll have been six long years since the billion dollar success so it’s quite hard to predict what success the film will find.

Through the Looking Glass – May 27th 2016

Star Wars: Episode VII – December 18th 2015

Depp and Wasikowska confirmed for Wonderland 2 and Elizabeth Olsen officially in for Avengers 2

Elizabeth Olsen starred in indie hits such as Martha Marcy May Marlene, Silent House and Liberal Arts. She’s got three major roles coming up: Spike Lee’s remake of Chan Wook Park’s cult classic thriller Oldboy, with Aaron Taylor Johnson and Bryan Cranston on Gareth Edwards’ epic reboot Godzilla and Joss Whedon’s hopefully stunning comic book sequel The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Olsen has finally been confirmed for. She’ll play Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, brother of Quicksilver (Godzilla star Taylor Johnson). The ensemble includes Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Cobie Smulders, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L Jackson, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo and James Spader.

In some ways, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was a sequel in its own way. Its story takes place many years after the original animation, and Lewis Carroll’s books, and sees Alice’s return to a world she thought was a dream but it wasn’t adapting Carroll’s actual sequel Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. James Bobin (The Muppets) will be taking over directing for this adaptation of The Looking Glass and stars Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska are set to star in a 27th of May 2016 release date. There’s still no word on Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway or Matt Lucas.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – May 1st 2015

Alice in Wonderland 2/Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There/Through the Looking Glass – May 27th 2016