The 2023 Disney+ Preview
2023 for Disney+ marks the return of series like Loki and The Mandalorian. Along with new series like Pixar’s ‘Win or Lose’, ‘Ahsoka’, and ‘Secret Invasion’. 2023 is shaping up to be a big year for originals on Disney+.
Disney+ in 2023 promises us new stories. We will see multiple Star Wars and Marvel series debut and return this year. We will also see the first Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios’ original series make their debut this year. Will we see new additions from the Disney vault? That remains to be seen, but Disney+ has a lot of originals coming out in the pipeline.
Nevertheless, here is the preview for all the original content that should be premiering on the service this year.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
The animated series returned on January 4. The series follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War.
This is the Waycast covers the series weekly.
The Mandalorian Season 3
The third season of The Mandalorian will focus on Din Djarin (The Mandalorian) traveling to Mandalore to redeem his past transgressions with his companion Grogu. It seems like we are in for a showdown with Mando and Bo-Katan. I’d also expect more major events to go down in this thrilling post-Return of the Jedi era.
The Mandalorian returns on March 1.
This is the Waycast will be covering The Mandalorian weekly on our podcast.
Ahsoka
Rosario Dawson stars as Ahsoka Tano in this limited series set within The Mandalorian timeline. The series will also mark the live-action debuts of Rebels characters like Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfadi). The series will premiere at some point in 2023.
This is the Waycast will be covering Ahsoka weekly on our podcast.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Skeleton Crew is set within The Mandalorian timeline and it’s supposed to premiere in 2023. There is a chance that the series could be delayed to 2024, although it was recently featured in a “Disney+ in 2023” ad. Jude Law stars in the series which is about a group of children who get lost in the Star Wars galaxy.
This is the Waycast will be covering Skeleton Crew weekly on our podcast.
Star Wars: Visions Vol.2
The second volume of Star Wars anime shorts are coming in the spring to Disney+. The first volume of shorts were highly praised by fans. The second volume is supposedly more global and less anime. Star Wars: Visions returns in Spring 2023.
Secret Invasion
Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury but for a big MCU crossover event series on Disney+. The series will also star Ben Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle, Martin Freeman, Olivia Colman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Emilia Clarke. The MCU has been planting seeds for Secret Invasion since Captain Marvel, and they’ve followed up on the Skrull invasion in Spider-Man: Far From Home and WandaVision.
Secret Invasion will premiere in Spring 2023 on Disney+.
Boardwalk Times Multiverse of Marvel will be doing Skrull SZN, a Secret Invasion after-show, on a weekly basis.
Loki Season 2
After season one’s big cliffhanger, Loki and the TVA will return for a second season. I’m expecting some major action for Loki season two as things start to heat up in the Multiverse Saga.
Boardwalk Times Multiverse of Marvel will be doing Living Loki, a Loki after-show, on a weekly basis.
Ironheart
Ironheart will tell the story of Riri Williams who makes the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. Riri Williams/Ironheart was first introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Ironheart will also focus on technology verse magic. Something that should pique the interest of most MCU fans.
Boardwalk Times Multiverse of Marvel will have an Ironheart after-show on a weekly basis.
Echo
Let’s just address it upfront. This show may be delayed. Echo may premiere in 2024. Although Marvel Studios has been super quiet regarding the series. It will be interesting if we get an update on Echo any time soon.
The show is set to take place after the events of Hawkeye. Maya Lopez/Echo (Alaqua Cox) will have to deal with her past. Daredevil and Kingpin are also slated to appear in the series.
Boardwalk Times Multiverse of Marvel will have an Echo after-show on a weekly basis.
What If…? Season Two
What If…? will return for a second season this year. One thing to watch however is if What If…? will still be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or if it will go off and be its own thing. The second season of What If…? includes a follow-up episode with Captain Carter, Tony Stark on Sakaar, Marvel 1602, and more.
Boardwalk Times Multiverse of Marvel will be doing Watcher’s World, a What If…? after-show, on a weekly basis.
X-Men ‘97
Marvel Studios is continuing the X-Men: The Animated Series with X-Men ’97. The new series will premiere on Disney+ this fall and it is unclear if the series will have a greater tie-in within the MCU.
Pixar’s Win or Lose
Pixar’s first-ever long-form series will finally debut in 2023. Win or Lose will follow the Pickles, a co-ed middle school softball team, in the week leading up to their championship game. Each episode takes place that same week, highlighting the perspective of a different main character — players, their parents, the umpire — each reflected in a unique visual style. Will Forte is part of the cast. Win or Lose was directed by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates.
Win or Lose will premiere in Fall 2023.
Peter Pan & Wendy
Peter Pan & Wendy is a live-action reimagining of the 1953 animated classic Peter Pan. Directed by David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon), the film stars Alexander Molony as Peter Pan, Ever Anderson as Wendy, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell, Alyssa Wapanâtahk as Tiger Lily, and Jude Law as Captain Hook.
The new film dives deeper into Wendy’s story and reveals the history behind Peter Pan’s rivalry with one of Disney’s infamous villains.
American Born Chinese
American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang, an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his home life. When he meets a new student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods. The Disney+ series is based on the genre-hopping graphic novel by
Gene Luen Yang.
American Born Chinese stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Ben Wang, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Jimmy Liu, Sydney Taylor, and Daniel Wu.
The series is produced by Destin Daniel Cretton.
The Muppets Mayhem
The Electric Mayhem are getting their own Disney+ series. The Muppets Mayhem follows Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem as they deal with the modern music business as they try and record their first-ever platinum album.
The series was developed by Adam F. Goldberg, Bill Barretta, and Jeff Yorkes. The series will star Lilly Singh, Tahj Mowry, Saara Chaudry along with Muppet performers Bill Barretta, Peter Linz, Eric Jacobson, Matt Vogel, David Rudman, and Dave Goelz.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Season 4)
The fourth season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will be about the Wildcats returning to East High where they prepare a stage production of High School Musical 3: Senior Year. But plans are disrupted when Principal Gutierrez announces that Disney has decided to make the long-awaited High School Musical 4: The Reunion movie on location at their beloved high school.
A lot of the original High School Musical cast is set to return this season but we are waiting on confirmations for Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens.
The fourth season will star Joshua Bassett, Sofia Wylie, Dara Reneé, Julia Lester, Frankie Rodriguez, Kate Reinders, Liamani Segura, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, Lucas Grabeel, Bart Johnson, Alyson Reed, and Kaycee Stroh.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos
Agatha: Coven of Chaos will feature a lot of returning Westview players. It’s turning out to be a WandaVision sequel of sorts. The dark comedy series is being created by WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer.
Kathryn Hahn stars as Agatha Harkness. The cast includes WandaVision returnees such as Debra Jo Rupp as Sharon Davis/”Ms.Hart”, Emma Caulfield Ford as Sarah Proctor/“Dottie Jones”, David Payton as John Collins / “Herb”, David Lengel as Harold Proctor / “Phil Jones”, Asif Ali as Abilash Tandon / “Norm”, and Kate Forbes as Evanora Harkness.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos is also bringing in new players such as Joe Locke, Aubrey Plaza, Ali Ahn, Maria Dizzia, Sasheer Zamata, Patti LuPone, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Okwui Okpokwasili.
Duffy and Friends
A stop-motion animated series starring Duffy the Disney Bear and his friends. It will be a six-episode series. Duffy the Disney Bear is an original character to the Disney Parks and is extremely popular at Disney’s three Asian resorts (Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo).
Could the Disney+ series be the catalyst to bring Duffy back to EPCOT?
Iwájú
Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pan-African comic book entertainment company Kugali team up for this long-form animated series.
The coming-of-age story introduces Tola, a young heiress from the wealthy island, and her best friend Kole, a self-taught tech expert and loving son from the mainland.
Iwájú will arrive in 2023.
Prom Pact
Synopsis: It is the height of prom season, but high school senior Mandy Yang has her sights set on a singular goal: attending Harvard. When she finds out she has been deferred, she is determined to do whatever she can to get herself off the waitlist, even if that means asking the one person who represents everything she abhors — popular all-star jock Graham Lansing, whose father is a powerful Senator and Harvard alum. Once Mandy becomes Graham’s tutor, she begins to realize there’s more to him than she thought, and perhaps something more to life than Harvard as well. When Graham’s father offers to recommend Mandy to Harvard, will she choose to take this boost, even if it comes at the cost of what she stands for?
Prom Pact stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Milo Manheim, Blake Draper, Arica Himmel, Jason Sakaki, Margaret Cho, Monique Green, David S. Jung, Wendi McLendon-Covey.
Doctor Who 2023 Specials
The new season of Doctor Who will premiere in 2024 on Disney+. Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson will star in the new season of Doctor Who. But before that Disney+ will be the home of three Doctor Who specials in November 2023 starring Doctor Who fan-favorite David Tennant.
Read more about Doctor Who’s Disney+ arrival on Boardwalk Times:
Crater
Crater is a Disney+ original film coming from director Kyle Patrick Alvarez with a script from John Griffin. 20th Century Fox bought the script of Crater in 2017. After Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox, production on Crater was halted. The film was originally intended for a theatrical release before being shifted to a Disney+ original.
Crater is a coming-of-age story that takes place in a lunar mining colony and follows a boy after the death of his father. The boy then goes on a journey exploring a mysterious crater with his four best friends, before he is permanently relocated to another planet.
The film stars Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Kid Cudi, Mckenna Grace, Billy Barratt, Orson Hong, and Thomas Boyce.
Chang Can Dunk
Chang Can Dunk follows Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American high school student in the marching band, who bets the school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads the 5’ 8" Chang on a quest to find the hops he needs to dunk in order to impress his crush, Kristy, and finally gain the attention and respect of his high school peers. But before he can rise up and truly throw one down, he’ll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships, and his family.
The film stars Bloom Li, Ben Wang, Dexter Darden, Chase Liefeld, and Zoe Renee.
Jingyi Shao is writing and directing from a script he wrote.
Aladdin: The Broadway Musical
To capitalize on the success of Hamilton on Disney+, expect the streamer to do more musical events like Elton John Live and Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl. Aladdin: The Broadway Musical was supposed to premiere on Disney+ in 2022 but now it seems that the recorded musical special will air sometime in 2023 (or at least we hope that’s the case).
This list will likely change and evolve over the year.
Some projects may get moved into 2024 or beyond. Yet, this should be a good outline of what to expect this year from Disney+. Obviously, more programming and originals will be announced as the year goes on.
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Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
