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Foreground Image Credit: Glennia, FlickrEarlier this week, The Walt Disney Company posted its Q3 earnings, with Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger revealing urgent information about the future of the Mouse House’s movie slate.
Ever since Bob Iger returned to head The Walt Disney Company following Bob Chapek’s ousting in November 2022, his goal has been clear: to produce entertaining content. While Iger’s methods have been criticized (the mass purge of Disney+ content in 2023 being one of his more aggressive moves to save money), his return as CEO has seen many content strategies shifted–Disney Originals and Marvel Studios being prime examples.
That said, since Iger’s return to office, Disney hasn’t been completely free from poor performance. In fact, some of the biggest hits for the Mouse House have come under his latest tenure. While production will have already been in motion for a lot of projects, the weak performance of movies like Disney’s Snow White (2025) and Elio (2025) will always be attached to Iger’s rule.
Even big franchises like Captain America failed to reel audiences back into theaters. Captain America: Brave New World (2025), the fourth entry in the series, landed with a lukewarm thud at the box office, as did Thunderbolts* (2025) despite being well-reviewed and having strong word of mouth.
And then there’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The Pedro Pascal-starrer hit the global box office with a bang at the end of July but suffered a steep drop going into its second weekend. Despite that, Iger recently said that Marvel’s First Family was an “important” franchise for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
On that same Q3 earnings call, Iger shared his take on the original vs. sequel conversation.
“We continue to be focused on creating new IP,” Iger said (via Variety). “Obviously, that’s of great value to us long term. But we also know that the popularity of our older IP remains significant, and the opportunities to either produce sequels or convert what was previously animation to live action, like we’re doing with Moana in 2026, it’s just a great opportunity for the company and supports our franchise.”
He added, “So I wouldn’t say that we’ve got a priority one way or the other. Our priority is to put out great movies that ultimately resonate with consumers.”
Looking ahead, and even with the billion-dollar Lilo & Stitch live-action remake still entertaining audiences, Iger revealed what Disney believes to be the two crucial movies going into the latter quarter of the year. And to no one’s surprise, it’s two sequels.
Seemingly aiming to replicate the success of 2024’s Inside Out 2 and Moana 2, Disney hopes that the double holiday period release of Zootopia 2 (2025) and Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) will bring in big bucks for the company.
Disney’s 2024 Heroes
Pixar returned to Riley’s mind in Inside Out 2, this time diving into the chaos of adolescence. Directed by Kelsey Mann, the sequel reintroduced Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and Anger (Lewis Black), while adding new emotions like Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke.
With a touching story, clever humor, and a fresh musical score from Andrea Datzman, the film captured what it feels like to grow up in Pixar’s signature style. It became the studio’s biggest hit in years, grossing over $1.5 billion and claiming the title of highest-grossing animated movie ever (even if only for a short time).
As for Disney’s Moana 2, the movie brought Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson back as Moana and Maui in a sequel that expanded the oceanic adventure. Directed by Dave Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the film featured new music and the story continued Moana’s journey as a voyager and leader, deepening her connection to her culture and destiny. Audiences responded in a big way. Moana 2 surged past the $1.1 billion mark worldwide, proving there was still plenty of heart and magic in the waves.
Now with 2025 here, the sequels that could replace the animated duo as Disney’s next big thing are almost upon us.
“[Iger] also touted the Zootopia and Avatar sequels arriving later this year as strong candidates for box office success while celebrating the $1 billion success of the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie,” Variety reported.
Zootopia 2
Zootopia 2 is scheduled for release on November 28, 2025, and if the response to the first movie is any indication, the sequel will be a significant hit for Disney.
Disney’s Zootopia was a slick animated hit that connected with audiences of all ages. Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, with Jared Bush co-directing, the film starred Ginnifer Goodwin as rookie bunny cop Judy Hopps and Jason Bateman as sly fox Nick Wilde. With a strong supporting cast—including Idris Elba and J.K. Simmons—the movie followed Judy and Nick as they unraveled a conspiracy in a mammal metropolis.
Zootopia–or Zootropolis as it was known in some markets–won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars and pulled in over $1.02 billion at the global box office.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Locked in for the Christmas release, James Cameron’s Avatar threequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is set for December 19, 2025.
James Cameron’s Avatar changed the game in 2009, delivering a visually groundbreaking 3D sci-fi epic that pulled audiences into the alien world of Pandora. With Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri, Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine, and Stephen Lang as Colonel Quaritch, the film combined cutting-edge motion capture with immersive storytelling.
Cameron wrote, directed, and produced the project, with Jon Landau co-producing under Lightstorm Entertainment. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all time, earning nearly $2.92 billion worldwide and setting a new bar for visual effects in blockbuster filmmaking.
After 13 years, Cameron returned to Pandora with Avatar: The Way of Water, taking the franchise underwater with stunning new technology. The sequel brought back Worthington, Saldaña, Weaver (in a new role), and Lang, while adding Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis to the cast. Produced by Cameron and Landau and released by 20th Century Studios, the movie was a massive hit, earning more than $2.32 billion globally and ranking as the third-highest-grossing film ever.
How do you feel about these big sequel releases coming later this year? Do you think they could usurp last year’s big Disney hits? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!