Disney just announced three new "Star Wars" films and four "Avatar" sequels
"Star Wars" fans have a lot to look forward to. Disney has announced the release schedule for dozens of feature films through 2027, and the lineup features release dates for three new "Star Wars" films and four new "Avatar" sequels.
Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox has changed the lineup, which now includes releases from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Fox, Fox Searchlight and Blue Sky Studios. The $71 billion deal included "Avatar," the highest-grossing film of all time.
Many of the films had been previously announced, but fans spotted some important additions. A new "Star Wars" film is slated for release in December 2022, three years after the upcoming "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." Two more sequels will follow in December 2024 and 2026.
James Cameron's long-awaited "Avatar 2" has been pushed back from December 2020 to December 2021, with "Avatar 3" following in December 2023, "Avatar 4" in December 2025 and "Avatar 5" in December 2027.
The original "Avatar" is the highest-grossing film in history, crossing the $2.8 billion mark in 2009 — although it may soon be surpassed by "Avengers: Endgame." Following "Endgame," Marvel only has two 2020 movies on the schedule, but three planned for both 2021 and 2022 — all untitled so far.
The announcement also comes with news of the next Disney live-action remakes. This year brings "The Lion King" and "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil." "Mulan" is set for March 2020 and "Cruella" is coming December 2020. There are also eight other untitled live-action projects in the works in the following years.