More Disney in 2019

Opinion Piece

Ainsley Freeman, Staff Writer

As one of the most well-known movie studios and multi-billion dollar company, it comes as no surprise that Disney has a large roster of movies set to come out this year. On the list are animated sequels to box-office hits, live-action remakes of their most popular movies, and a few original features.

After “Frozen” had extreme success in the box-office when it first premiered, the time has come for Disney to push out a sequel to Elsa’s story. While plot details and a trailer are still hidden from the public, there has been speculation that Disney will give Elsa a girlfriend in “Frozen 2,” due to a tweet from the movie’s director saying that she would not mind giving Elsa a girlfriend. This would make her the first LGBTQ Disney princess. “Frozen 2” hits theaters on Nov. 22.

Since the late 1990s, Disney has begun a tradition of releasing live-action remakes of their old movies, like “The Jungle Book” or “Cinderella”. This year, we will get not one, not two, but three live-action remakes. The long awaited remake of “The Lion King” drops on July 19, with Donald Glover voicing Simba and James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa. Both “Dumbo” and “Aladdin” are also getting live-action remakes, releasing on March 29 and May 24 respectively.

Other sequels coming in 2019 is the fourth movie in the “Toy Story” franchise and a third movie of Disney’s “Descendants”. The movie branches off Disney’s animated princess movies and follows the story of the children of famous villains like Maleficent and Scar. No plot details have come out about either “Descendants 3” or “Toy Story 4”. The next “Toy Story” is set to premiere on June 21, and “Descendants 3” is expected to release on Disney Channel mid-2019.

But this year Disney isn’t entirely banking on our nostalgia of their previous films. They are also pushing out one brand-new movie that has absolutely nothing to do with old movies remade or sequels to ice-queens. This is “Artemis Fowl”, a movie remake of the hit childrens series of books under the same name. “Artemis Fowl” follows the adventures of criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl II as he unravels the mystery of his father’s disappearance. “Artemis Fowl” will premiere on August 9.

Disney is not all Pixar and Disney Princesses. The geeks of the world will be treated to new Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios movies in 2019. The highly-anticipated “Captain Marvel” and “Avengers: Endgame” movies come out on March 8 and April 26 respectively. The “Avengers: Endgame” trailer was the most-viewed trailer in 24 hours ever, which is not surprising given that “Endgame” is the final installment of the “Avengers” franchise. “Endgame” will pick up in the aftermath of Thanos’ snap (officially labeled the Decimation) as the scattered and grieving heroes make one last stand against the Mad Titan.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” comes out on July 5, starring Tom Holland reprising his role as Peter Parker. Spider-Man will team up with one-eyed Nick Fury to stop an evil Mysterio, while trying keeping his identity secret during a class trip to Europe.

Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox are releasing yet another new X-Men movie. Not one but two new mutant-centric films are coming to the big screen. “Dark Phoenix”, premiering on June 7, is likely the last in the most recent X-Men movie saga, with Jean Grey being taken over by the evil Phoenix Force. A new genre of X-Men movies are also coming to theaters, with “The New Mutants” taking a more horror-movie-like approach. Props to Marvel for trying something new.

One of the most well-known movie franchises is the “Star Wars” trilogies. Lucasfilm wraps up its third trilogy with Episode IX, likely the last movie in Rey’s story. According to Empire, the film will pick up one year after the events of “The Last Jedi”. While no title nor other plot details have been released about this movie, it will release on December 20, just under a year away.

No matter what, Disney is bound to have a massive year, with both the superhero fans flocking to see the Avengers once more, and the younger audiences racing to watch Elsa or Woody. Disney is well-known for their heartfelt animated movies, and so far they have not disappointed. This year is bound to be a massive success for Disney, but all we can do now is wait for our favorite characters to return once more.