Disney reveals the official title of Avatar 3 and new movies

Details of new movies including the third installment of Avatar, an addition to the Star Wars franchise and a sequel to Freaky Friday have been announced at a major Disney fan event.

A film producer James Cameron he told an audience of 12,000 that Avatar: Fire And Ash “won’t be what you expect” as US actor Jon Favreau teased the new Star Wars film The Mandalorian And Grogu, which and Pedro Pascal.

Actors Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtisthe stars of the 2003 comedy Freaky Friday, also appeared on stage to promote Freakier Friday, which is scheduled for 2025.

The announcements were made at D23, the biennial convention for members of the official Disney fan club, in California on Friday.

Avatar director Cameron made a surprise appearance alongside the film’s stars Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington.

The science fiction epic, which will be released on December 19, 2025, comes after 2009’s Avatar and its sequel Avatar: The Way Of Water, released in 2022.

“The new movie is not what you expect, but it’s definitely what you want,” Cameron told the audience.

He said it’s “too soon” to share images, but viewers can look forward to “cool concept art” that shows players in the sky and surrounded by fire.

“There are new cultures and settings and creatures, and new biomes,” he said.

“You’re going to see a lot more of Pandora, the planet, that you’ve never seen before.”

Lohan and Curtis were greeted with a standing ovation at the eighth annual D23 event, held from August 9 to 11 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.

Curtis described Freakier Friday – about a mother and daughter who switch bodies thanks to a magical Chinese cookie – as “more fun and emotional than their 2003 film.

“We’ve stayed in touch over the years and we’re very close, so it feels like we’re picking up where we left off, which is great,” Lohan said.

Oscar-winner Curtis told the audience: “We love these people, we love each other, we love you and you love us and the film and the story and what it means to you – that’s why we’re here.”

The pair have confirmed One Tree Hill’s Chad Michael Murray and NCIS actor Mark Harmon to reprise their roles in the sequel.

The audience was shown three images from the new film including a picture of Curtis sporting a silver haircut while driving Lohan in an open top car.

In the new film, Lohan’s character Anna Coleman has her daughter.

Freaky Friday, based on the 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers, was also made into a movie in 1976, starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris.

As for the new Star Wars film, The Mandalorian, executive producer Dave Filoni said production began “a few weeks ago” and should be released in May 2026.

“We are bringing Star Wars back to the big screen,” said Mr Filoni.

The announcement came after Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter announced that The Incredibles 3 was also in the works.

He confirmed that Brad Bird, the writer and director of the first two films, is back for the next installment from the beloved family in hiding.

Frozen director Jennifer Lee has also appeared to confirm that there will be two more films added to the Frozen Franchise.

“From Frozen 2, we still have questions… Now you see why it’s going to take two movies to answer them,” he teased.

Lee has shared a first look at concept art for Frozen 3, which is slated for 2027.

Fans also got a teaser of a new song for the upcoming Lion King prequel titled I Want My Brother Always.

Lin-Manuel Miranda – the creator of Hamilton’s hit music – is composing the soundtrack for Mufasa: The Lion King, and said it was “such a pleasure” to work with the film’s Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins.

Also at the event, Toy Story star Tom Hanks joined the original film’s creative team including Pete Docter, who is now chief creative officer at the animation studio behind it, Pixar, in the panel.

Since the film was first released in November 1995, Toy Story has become a popular franchise with three sequels and a fourth in 2026.

Hanks’ portrayal of Woody’s voice.

And during the class, the audience was shown a printed list titled “Woody’s pull-string dialogue line techniques” dated February 3, 1993.

There were three handwritten sentences underneath, including Hanks’ famous line “there’s a snake in my boot”.

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