Disney’s Slate Of Movies For 2017 Includes The Much-Awaited ‘Beauty And The Beast’ And ‘Star Wars 8’
Disney had a banner year in 2016 having produced six of the top 10 best-performing films. Can they do it again for 2017?
The live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Star Wars 8 are sure to be huge successes, but the other franchises on the list such as Cars 3 and the fifth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean may not fare as well, as it is uncertain how many fans were hoping for more of these two stories or how much more stories are left to tell. Then there are there is the big question mark of the new animated film Coco. At any rate, here is the full slate of Disney movies to be released in 2017.
Beauty and the Beast – Opening March 17
Although many were skeptical about Disney reinventing their classic animated films into live action movies, the move has been a successful one for both the studio and fans alike. Beauty and the Beast is said to be faithful to the original film and its original music while also creating new music as well. The cast includes Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson.
Born in China – Opening April 21
As is the tradition Disneynature’s seventh True Life Adventure, Born in China, opens on Earth Day 2017 and focuses on three different animal families. The stories include one about a mother and son told from a panda’s point of view, a 2-year-old golden monkey rebels when his new sister is born and joins a gang and a snow leopard’s journey of caring for her young in a harsh environment is captured on camera. Disney always gets a top name actor to narrate the Disneynature films, but who that will be this time around has not been announced as of yet.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – Opening May 5
For some, Guardians of the Galaxy was a huge surprise hit, as it was based on a little-known Marvel comic series. The adventure comedy was so successful that the movie has its own theme park attraction being built at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim. The storyline for the new movies is pretty much hush-hush, but we do know that it will find out more about Peter Quill’s parents as they embark on a new adventure. The returning and new cast members include Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Kurt Russell, among others.
Pirates of the Caribbean 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales – Opening May 26
Just when you thought Disney couldn’t go any further with the Pirates franchise, the studio is preparing to release chapter five. Johnny Depp once again stars as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Jerry Bruckheimer film. This time around, Jack is being haunted by deadly ghost sailor led by the creepy-looking Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) who have escaped the Devil’s Triangle bent on killing pirates who are still alive. The cast includes Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Kevin R. McNally, Golshifteh Farahani, David Wenham, Stephen Graham, and Geoffrey Rush.
Cars 3 – Opening June 16
Directed by a storyboard artist for the first two films, Brian Fee leads the show for Cars 3 in which Lightning McQueen comes to terms that he is not as young as he once was and, after a devastating event, finds that he’ll need to take the advice of a much younger Cruz Ramirez, a race technician. The film features the voice talents of Owen Wilson, Cristela Alonzo, and other favorites from the first two films.
Thor: Ragnarok – Opening November 3
In this latest Marvel outing, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) finds himself in prison without the aid of his hammer. Of course, he needs to get out so that he can stop the oncoming destruction of his homeworld caused by a ruthless new foe, Hela. To make things worse, he’s faced with a “deadly gladiatorial contest” that pits him against the Incredible Hulk. The movie also stars Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins.
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Coco – Opening November 22
In this new animated tale, Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming a famous musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt) but has one thing standing in the way of his dream – his family’s ban on music. With a little bit of magic, Miguel travels through the Land of the Dead and meets trickster Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal), and together they attempt to find out the history behind the lack of music in Miguel’s family. The voice cast also includes Renee Victor.
Star Wars 8 – Opening December 15
You may have heard of this one, but unfortunately, neither Disney nor Lucasfilm is sharing the plotline to the continuing Star War adventure, but that probably doesn’t matter, as audiences will flock to the theater to see this film regardless of the plot.
[Featured Image by Walt Disney Pictures]
