More Frozen, more Star Wars: Those were among the big announcements at the Walt Disney Company's annual shareholders' meeting Thursday in San Francisco.
Disney CEO Bob Iger officially announced several upcoming releases during a conference call, including:
- Frozen 2 (in development)
- Star Wars Episode VIII, opening May 26, 2017
- Star Wars: Rouge One, the franchise's first spin-off film, starring Felicity Jones and opening in 2016
- Avatar Land at Disney's Animal Kingdom is still set to open in 2017
- Shanghai Disneyland will open in spring 2016
Frozen 2: Let it go (again)!
By Jake Coyle, AP Film Writer
Let it go (on)!
The Walt Disney Co. on Thursday announced plans to make a sequel to the animated mega-hit "Frozen." Bob Iger, Walt Disney Co. chief executive, and John Lasseter, head of Walt Disney Animation Studios, joined in officially announcing "Frozen 2" at the company's annual shareholders meeting in San Francisco.
The sequel had been widely expected for a film that has become a juggernaut for Disney. Since its release in November 2013, "Frozen" has made nearly $1.3 billion globally at the box office, generated a massive merchandising revenue stream and won the Academy Award for best animated feature.
Disney didn't announce any details on the sequel's plot or a release date, but said directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck will be returning.
"We enjoyed making Frozen Fever so much and being back in that world with those characters," said Lasseter. "Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck have come up with a great idea for a sequel and you will be hearing a lot more about it and we're taking you back to Arendelle."
Though a sequel was always only a matter of time, fans have waited eagerly for the announcement. Most big box-office hits generate sequel announcements within weeks of opening.
But any delay in a "Frozen" sequel has been easily assuaged by the film's unabated popularity. "Frozen" is by far the biggest grossing animated film ever, and its soundtrack, led by Idina Menzel's "Let it Go," remains ubiquitous. A "Frozen" short is to play in front of Disney's latest release, the live-action "Cinderella," which opens in theaters Friday.
Josh Gad, the voice of the snowman Olaf, was on hand for the announcement Thursday and will be returning for the sequel. But no other returning characters were announced.
Star Wars Episode VIII snags May 2017 release date
At the shareholders meeting, Disney also announced a release date for "Star Wars: Episode VIII": May 26, 2017.
Rian Johnson, known for the innovative time travel film "Looper," is confirmed to write and direct. "Episode VIII" will take place after the events of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which opens Dec. 18.
Iger also announced that the first in a series of big-screen "Star Wars" stand-alone films is titled "Rogue One." Gareth Edwards ("Godzilla") will direct off of a script from Chris Weitz ("About a Boy").
Felicity Jones, who earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in "The Theory of Everything," is set to star in "Rogue One," which will shoot in London this summer for Dec. 16, 2016, release.
Disney's official release
The following is Disney's official news release, posted Thursday on D23.com:
Today at The Walt Disney Company’s annual meeting in San Francisco, California, Chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger told shareholders and D23 Members in attendance of exciting news from the world of Star Wars and Frozen.
Here is the news that our friends at Lucasfilm posted on StarWars.com:
Rogue One is the First Star Wars Stand-Alone Film, Rian Johnson to Write and Direct Star Wars: Episode VIII
“Always in motion is the future,” Yoda said. The future of the Star Wars cinematic galaxy, however, is taking shape.
This morning at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, across the street from Lucasfilm, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger hosted a shareholder meeting where he announced news regarding the first Star Wars stand-alone movie as well as Star Wars: Episode VIII.
Rogue One is the title for the first film in a unique series of big-screen adventures that explores the characters and events beyond the core Star Wars saga. Rogue One will be directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (Cinderella, About a Boy,Antz). The first actress cast is Felicity Jones, who garnered an Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim for her performance in The Theory of Everything. The idea for the story of Rogue One came from John Knoll, an Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic. He will executive produce along with Simon Emanuel (The Dark Knight Rises, Fast & Furious 6) and Jason McGatlin (Tintin, War of the Worlds). Kathleen Kennedy and Tony To (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) are on board to produce and John Swartz (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) will co-produce. The film starts shooting this summer in London and is due for release on December 16, 2016.
In addition, Iger confirmed that Rian Johnson will write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII. The film, which continues the saga after the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is set for release on May 26, 2017 — forty years and a day after the release of Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977. Johnson is widely considered one of cinema’s most gifted young filmmakers, having directed the modern sci-fi classic, Looper, as well as Brick and The Brothers Bloom. He was also behind the camera for three episodes of the critically-acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad, including “Ozymandias,” which series creator Vince Gilligan named as the best installment of the show. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman, producer of Looper, Don Jon, Brick, and The Brothers Bloom, are on board to produce.
Shareholders and D23 Members also heard the “super-cool” news that Disney is officially in development on Frozen 2. Iger announced the news this morning with John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, and actor Josh Gad—the voice of Olaf.