With their recent trend of taking classic stories and giving them modern, live-action remakes proving to be quite a hit, Disney have gone and announced 5 new release dates for even more of these live-action films as Disney announce their forthcoming slate through to 2019.

 The studio already have their hands full with Marvel, Star Wars, the forthcoming re-launch of the Indiana Jones franchise, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios but their live-action films are proving to be quite the success; Jon Favreau's live-action The Jungle Book is still dominating the worldwide box-office. And with films like Alice in Wonderland having grossed over $1 billion and Maleficent and Cinderella both also proving to be critical and commercial success, it's clear why Disney have no intention on slowing down with these films any time as they have gone and announced 5 new dates from Summer 2017, running through to December 2019 for live-action films - atop of the 3 that they had previously announced - which were November 2nd, 2018, March 29th, 2019 and November 8th, 2019.

 Here are the new dates which Disney have announced:
  • July 28th, 2017.
  • April 4th, 2018.
  • August 3rd, 2018.
  • December 25th, 2018.
  • December 20th, 2019.
Now, what films will end up taking those dates remains to be seen. However, seeing as Disney also announced a total of 9 new live-action titles that are currently in development, along with some details of stars, directors and writers on-board each of the projects. In the announcement, Disney confirmed previously rumoured films such as Mary Poppins, as well as reveal totally new films such as A Wrinkle in Time and a sequel to 2014's Maleficent.

 Here's a rundown of the some of the films that were announced:
  • CRUELLA

Emma Stone is set to take on the title role in this live-action film revolving around the villainous character of Cruella de Vil - from 101 Dalmations. Kelly Marcel is writing the script, she also Saving Mr. Banks for Disney, as well as last year's Fifty Shades of Grey. I loved Maleficent, which revolved around the eponymous Sleeping Beauty film, so if Cruella is anything like that then we could have a real treat on our hands.
  • A WRINKLE IN TIME

 Selma director Ava DuVernay is attached to direct with Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph writer Jennifer Lee set to write the screenplay. The film will be a ive-action adaption of the hit children's sci-fi, fantasy novel of the same name in which a young girl's dad, a government scientist, goes missing when working on a mysterious project.
  • JUNGLE CRUISE

Based on the hit Magic Kingdom attraction at Disney World, Jungle Cruise is set to star the always charismatic Dwayne Johnson and it is being written by Glenn Ficarra and John Recqua, who wrote Crazy Stupid Love and directed Focus and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
  • DUMBO

After this year's The Jungle Book blew everyone away with it's stunning visuals and photo-realistic CG, the door has been opened for even more ambitious live-action adaptions and Alice in Wonderland director Tim Burton and, Transformers franchise alum, writer Ehren Kruger are set to give the beloved and iconic animation Dumbo a live-action re-imagining.
  • MARY POPPINS 2
It's been rumoured for a while now but Disney officially announced the Marry Poppins sequel and confirmed that Emily Blunt will star in the lead role. Lin-Manuel Miranda is set to join her and Rob Marshall - who also helmed Into the Woods for Disney; where he also worked with Blunt - will be directing.
  • MALEFICENT 2

I loved 2014's Maleficent. It was dark, mystical and just very entertaining. Angelina Jolie crushed it in the role too and it was a fresh live-action twist on the classic story. Disney have announced a sequel to the film and they've revealed that Linda Woolverton will be back to write the follow-up and Jolie will be back as our eponymous "Mistress of All Evil".
  • THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS

Dear John and The Hundred-Foot Journey director Lasse Hallstrom will join forces with writer Ashleigh Powell to bring us a live-action of E.T.A Hoffman's classic short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, in which a young girl finds a Nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve that comes to life and protects her from an army of villainous mice.
  • TINKER-BELL

Whilst there are rumours of a live-action Peter Pan film in the works, we at least know that we'll be seeing a live-action film dedicated solely to Peter's angry, short-tempered yet caring and loyal fairy friend, Tinker Bell. Finding Dory screenwriter Victoria Strouse is writing the film and Reese Witherspoon is attached to star in the title role - could you get any more perfect casting?
  • THE JUNGLE BOOK 2

Jon Favreau's live-action remake of the classic The Jungle Book just hit cinemas this past month and is still a global phenomenon. The photo-realistic CG blew everyone away, as did the heartfelt and fun story itself. Now, a sequel is officially on the cards and, as previously rumoured, Favreau will return to direct, as will Justin Marks who will write the follow-up. I loved the original and cannot wait to see where the story goes.

So, there you have it: a complete rundown of all the films that Disney have announced. With a total of 8 release dates announced, from 2017 through to 2019, for these live-action projects and 9 films announced, only time will tell what project is releasing when. Also, it's worth noting that this isn't a complete list as there's no mention of the Peter Pan reboot, with David Lowery attached to direct, or the Winnie the Pooh remake that Alex Perry is working on or the Mulan or Pinnochio reboots which have been rumoured. There's a whole slew of live-action films on the cards for Disney but the above 9 films are clearly much further in development than most other projects.

Of course, I'm sure those films - along with others - will be officially announced sooner or later, as will the allocations of the release dates mentioned at the start of the article but, for now, when you can expect the 9 announced projects is a mystery but between 2017 and 2019, for sure.

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About the Author

Awais Irfan
Founder of Oasis Awais, and avid lover of life, Awais Irfan's love of writing and film is unequivocal. Ever since he was a little kid, he has loved the cinematic experience; so much so, he is studying Film Production in Glasgow and hopes to be the next "big thing" in directing.

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