Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore — Previewing Disney+’s Upcoming Original Content

Feb 08, 2022

Originally published on June 29, 2021.

Welcome back to Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore! In this month’s newsletter, we will be diving into Disney+’s upcoming original content discussing everything from The Book of Boba Fett to films that are just in development. Also this month we will discuss the future of FastPass, my podcast, and Links of the Month.

Previewing Disney+’s Upcoming Original Content

Disney+ has a lot of upcoming original content in the coming months. They even have more series and films in the pipeline. Let’s take a look at some of the upcoming original content coming to the service.

The first thing we got to look at is the new batches of original content that will premiere on Wednesdays. It seems like going forward Wednesday will be the new Friday with Friday being reserved as a movie/Disney+ Premier Access day. I don’t agree with this change but we will see how it goes. I prefer to have new things to watch on Friday as opposed to Wednesday. Plus it’s a lot easier to do content on Friday than it is on a Wednesday.

Monsters at Work will premiere on Wednesday, July 7. This will be a Monsters Inc. sequel series featuring the voices of Billy Crystal and John Goodman. Even though this series includes Pixar characters it’s not made by Pixar! The series is made by Walt Disney Television Animation but it looks fantastic.

The first Pixar original Disney+ series will be Win or Lose and that will arrive in February 2023. Pixar is also developing a Cars series that should premiere in late 2022.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Disney+ will be airing The Beatles: Get Back as a three-part docuseries. I see this as being a big deal and a smart move to make it a series on Disney+ instead of a theatrical outing. Disney+ is now getting six hours of content and I’m sure this docuseries full of never-before-seen footage will get plenty of social media coverage.

Another special treat later this year will be Muppets Haunted Mansion. Hopefully, this leads to more Muppets/Disney Parks specials. That’s my personal hope as Disney+ is the perfect platform for seasonal specials and special events. I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if in a few years Walt Disney World’s annual Christmas Day parade special airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+.

Disney+’s upcoming original slate includes The Book of Boba Fett which promises to be another popular entry in the Star Wars (or may I dare say the Mando-verse) arrives in December. The series will likely pick up where the end credits scene of The Mandalorian season two left off. It’s also clear the series will be influential for The Mandalorian and its various spinoffs.

MCU entries Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel will arrive in late 2021. Both series should keep up the MCU’s momentum on Disney+. Hawkeye will see original Avenger Clint Barton (Jeremey Renner) back in action training a young protege Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld). Ms. Marvel will introduce Kamala Khan — a 16-year-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City who loves superheroes like Captain Marvel, then one day she gains superpowers of her own.

Also in 2021, will be Marvel Studios' first foray into animation with What If…? which seems very self-explanatory by the title of the series. The series seems to have some Twilight Zone vibes as Jeffrey Wright will voice The Watcher, who acts as a Rod Serling-type narrator for the series.

Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight will be an epic action-adventure series that tells the story of Marc Spector, a complex vigilante who suffers from dissociative identity disorder.

The MCU is pretty funny in its own right but its first comedy series She-Hulk will be coming to Disney+. The cast includes Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, and Tim Roth returning as Abomination. Both series are set for 2022 dates.

Don Cheadle will reprise his role as Rhodey for Armor Wars, as he tries to take back stolen Stark tech. My biggest prediction for that series is that it will include Sharon Carter as the main villain and it will be a set-up for Marvel Studios' next series which is… Ironheart.

Ironheart is about genius inventor Riri Williams who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. I expect Don Cheadle to play a role in this series and it will be interesting to see how her origin story plays out in the MCU.

Then the big Marvel series is Secret Invasion which will star Samuel L, Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and others. This Avengers-worthy event showcases a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating Earth for years.

Rounding off Marvel Studios in December 2022 will be Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special. I expect this special to be just as silly and as outrageous as the Star Wars Holiday Special. I also love the fact that the special will bridge the gap for the Guardians between Thor Love and Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3. I think it will add a level of stakes to the silly comedy special.

In 2022, Disney+ goes back to the Star Wars well with Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Both should be overwhelming hits. Andor will provide some fun for Rogue One fans and it will be a whopping 12 episodes. An episode count that is rare for these blockbuster series. Obi-Wan Kenobi will feature the return of Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader. Obi-Wan Kenobi may be one of Disney+’s most anticipated series of all time.

A TV series based on the 1988 George Lucas/Ron Howard film Willow will premiere on Disney+ in 2022. It will be Lucasfilm’s first time doing a Disney+ series that isn’t related to Star Wars.

That isn’t all for Lucasfilm and Star Wars though as the mystery-thriller The Acolyte and Ahsoka are also coming soon to the service, official dates haven’t been announced. The Acolyte will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. The series looks to bring something entirely new to Star Wars. The Acolyte will be created by Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland.

Ahsoka is part of the Mando-verse group and it will continue her story and potentially act as a live-action sequel to Star Wars Rebels. Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and the now-canceled Rangers of the New Republic are all going to lead to a crossover event. I got to assume Disney has a Mando-verse series ready to go to replace Rangers of the New Republic. But either way, Ahsoka will be pivotal if you’re a Star Wars fan and enjoy that post-original trilogy timeline. The series will be written by Dave Filoni.

Lando will be a Disney+ event series but it is currently unclear if the series will star Donald Glover or Billy Dee Williams. I’m personally hoping for both. The series will be written by Justin Simien.

Star Wars: Visions will be a new creative take on the Star Wars galaxy. It will be 10 episodes from the world’s best anime creators. The release date will be announced soon.

Other upcoming series include a reboot of National Treasures, R.L. Stine’s Just Beyond, The Beauty and the Beast prequel series, a revival of Walt Disney’s People and Places, an Ink & Paint docuseries, and a long-form animated series from Walt Disney Animation and Kugali called Iwaju.

Before we discuss the upcoming original film slate, there are plenty of series in development at Disney+. These series include The Sandlot, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a Wakanda series and an Okoye series, a Hawkeye spinoff about the character Echo, Darkwing Duck, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and The Society of Explorers and Adventurers, which that series should excite many Disney Parks fans.

Now let’s take a look at some of the upcoming original films coming to Disney+. I also believe Disney will continue to raise the profile of a Disney+ original as Soul and Luca are considered Disney+ originals. We potentially could see more rerouting in the post-pandemic future.

In 2021, we will get Aladdin: Live from the West End, animated films from Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Night at the Museum franchises, and a reimaging of Cinderella called Sneakerella. In 2022, Disney+’s original films up their game quite a bit (most of these probably would’ve been theatrical films in a pre-pandemic world). 2022’s lineup includes Andy Samberg/John Mulaney team up in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild, Hocus Pocus 2, Peter Pan & Wendy, Cheaper by the Dozen, Three Men and a Baby, and Disenchanted.

Although not dated for 2022, Pinocchio starring Tom Hanks and Lilo & Stitch are set to be Disney+ original films. Sister Act 3, a film about the rise of Giannis Antetokounmpo, a reboot of Home Alone, and a sequel to Disney+ original film Stargirl are all in stages of production at Disney+.

There is also a ton of films in development at Disney+. Too many to list but here are some important ones in my opinion:

The Parent Trap (another Disney reboot)
Prince Anders (I guess he was a Prince in 2019’s Aladdin? Somehow he’s getting his own film?)
Robin Hood (Disney live-action reimagining)
The Rocketeer (Another sequel-reboot)
Shrunk (A sequel in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise, the film will mark the return of Rick Moranis to acting)
A Tom Sawyer film
Daisy Ridley’s Young Woman and the Sea
The Sword in the Stone (Disney live-action reimagining)

We also have to take in consideration that Disney+ will be heavily investing in regional programming. Hopefully, this programming becomes available in other territories too. But for now, it seems like Disney+ has a large content pipeline for the future.

Disney+ may even start doing some all-episode drops for some of its upcoming series. They have done this for shows like Prop Culture and Earth to Ned but there is a distinct possibility Disney could end up doing this for some of its animated and middle-level live-action series (Big Shot and The Mighty Ducks).

While examining Disney+’s upcoming content slate it seems like they are hitching their wagon to Marvel, Star Wars, and film reboots which is good and will probably be successful. Yet, I hope as Disney+ goes into the future we see more and more original series gain traction that aren’t necessarily Marvel or Star Wars. I’m hoping we get some Disney Parks-related intellectual property series, historical docuseries, and even more innovative series in addition to all the Marvel and Star Wars goodness.

Hopefully, Disney also brings in more library titles to beef up Disney+. There are a lot of ABC and more adult Disney series that should be on Disney+. Maybe the company is just waiting on the verdict with Hulu.

The future is bright for Disney+ but it can be even brighter if they mix in more exciting ideas like Society of Explorers and Adventurers and Muppets Haunted Mansion along with its Mando-verse and Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special offerings.

The Future of FastPass

The future of FastPass has been highly debated, and it’s one of those stories to watch within the Disney universe. FastPass returning in some shape or form will be a huge story. The biggest question everyone has though is…

Will Disney charge money for FastPass?

They honestly might.

Yes, that does scare me. There are rumors that Disney may roll out a paid FastPass and that it would be included in the new Disney Genie app.

FastPass becoming a paid option would not be good in my opinion. I know some people don’t like FastPass at all but not having it available for free would change the Walt Disney World experience for many. Making it a paid option would make trips even more expensive and even more difficult to plan (looks at Disney’s reservation system). I would also wonder how a new paid FastPass system would look like for Walt Disney World annual passholders?

Yes, I have used Disney MaxPass out in Disneyland but still, I would rather have an improved FastPass system for free instead of paying for it for $20 a day. I get everything is about dollars nowadays but it would be nice if Disney could throw us a bone on this one thing and not charge for a service that has been free for years.

I think Disney very well could rethink the FastPass experience and make it better. I get people don’t want to book things out 60 days in advance. I just don’t think the paid option is the way to go. A lot of parks like Disneyland and Universal Orlando do paid skip the line or FastPass options.

What makes Walt Disney World different is it never did that. I think having some perks remain free is just goodwill for your business and your resort. I also understand that Disney wants to reshape its park business in a post-pandemic world and that FastPass+ came with its flaws but an expensive paid option may not be the best answer either.

I guess we will have to wait and see but the future of FastPass is complicated.

‘The Zach Perilstein Show’ Had A Great Month

Wow, what a month for my podcast. We did three awesome shows this month.

More episodes of The Zach Perilstein Show are coming soon. Is there someone you want to see me interview? Tweet at me @TripleZ_87 or @BoardwalkTimes on Twitter.

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