Disney Schedules Fairy Tale Films & the Future Looks Largely... Untitled? (+ an 'in production' update)

So: according to Slate, the Disney planning calendar has been in overdrive the last couple of days and a bunch of fairy tale films have their release dates set. Do we sound excited? Sort of. Why? Let's take a look at the line up:

2017 is looking kinda blank but we had our big fairy tale film release already, remember? Tale as old as...

• Nov. 22: Coco (3D) - folklore. not fairy tale but still...

2018 might be promising

• Aug. 3: Untitled Disney Fairy Tale (Live Action) - yay?
• Nov. 2: Mulan (Live Action) (3D) - this will include some folklore at least
• Dec. 25: Mary Poppins Returns - maybe a little folkloric/fairy tale (we said 'maybe')

2019 looks like a busy year for fairy tales... maybe

• March 29: Untitled Disney Fairy Tale (Live Action) - *crossing fingers*
• July 19: The Lion King (Live Action) (3D) - folklore possibilities (pretty please?)
• Nov. 8: Untitled Disney Fairy Tale (Live Action) - great - we think...
• Nov. 27: Frozen 2 (3D) - right, so probably sort fairy tale.. ish
• Dec. 20: Untitled Disney Fairy Tale (Live Action) - er, okay...

2020 has lots of untitled

• March 13: Untitled Pixar Animation (3D) - possibly, but probably not FT or folklore
• Nov. 25: Gigantic (3D) - Finally! Confirmation of a fairy tale film! YAY!

2021's line-up gives us no idea

• March 12: Untitled Disney Live Action - there's still a bunch of fairy tale projects that could slot in here.. hopefully
• June 18: Untitled Pixar Animation (3D) - probably not fairy tale, but you never know, since it's been a while for them
• Nov. 24: Untitled Disney Animation (3D) - does mostly CG now count as animation? We guess not, so. ugh, no idea on this one

But lets have another look at the fantasy (therefore fairy tale, folklore or FT-adjacent) projects we know are coming. Those in color have a confirmed release date using their title:

LIVE ACTION:

• Genie (Aladdin - with Will Smith starring)
• Cruella (origin story with Emma Stone starring)
• Maleficent II (Sleeping Beauty)
• Peter Pan
• Pinocchio
• The Little Mermaid (Lin-Manuel Miranda signed on. Universal is still working on an HCA-based version too, though it remains plagued by issues & is currently in limbo)
• Dumbo (Tim Burton still directing, with Danny DeVito confirmed & Michael Keaton in talks)
• The Sword in the Stone
• Mulan - November 2, 2018
• Winnie the Pooh
• Tink (Tinkerbell - note: Fox is also working on a Tinkerbell movie, possibly more teen/adult oriented)
• Snow White's Sister Rose Red
• Prince Charming (Cinderella)
• A Wrinkle In Time - March 9, 2018
• Mary Poppins Returns - December 25, 2018
• Jungle Cruise
• The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
• The Jungle Book II
• Night on Bald Mountain (Fantasia)
• Lion King (we're hoping for some folklore this time around!) - July 19, 2019
• Snow White (with La La Land songwriters signed on)
• Disenchanted (aka Enchanted 2 - taking place 10 years after the first story - Amy Adams, James Marsden, Patrick Dempsey starring)
• James and the Giant Peach (yes, Disney is redoing Roald Dahl's book as a big live action movie, though they didn't do the animated film. Sam Mendes is directing.)
• Chernabog/ Night on Bald Mountain (Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless listed as writers)

ANIMATION:

• Frozen II - November 27, 2019
• Coco (Dia  de los Muertos) - November 22, 2017
• Giants (Jack and the Beanstalk) - November 25, 2020

Note: King of the Elves is still listed as 'in development' for Disney Feature Animation and is based on a Philip K. Dick short story. The working synopsis goes: A Mississippi man becomes the reluctant ruler of a mythical race of elves after he saves them from a deadly troll. The 'crew' number listed remains about the size of an 'in development' crew, so perhaps this is still in the works, though last we heard it had been shelved. But you never know...

All images are by Disney artist, Lisa Keene and were created by her during development for the first Enchanted movie.