Walt Disney Animation Studios arrived at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event 2026 with a message that will sound familiar to anyone who has followed the studio in recent years: Disney is not walking away from its biggest animated worlds, but it is also continuing to invest in new stories.

During the Disney Entertainment Showcase at Honda Center in Anaheim, Disney Animation chief creative officer Jared Bush took the stage with some of the studio’s biggest stars and revealed what audiences can expect from the studio over the next several years.

The presentation offered a mixture of hugely anticipated sequels, an entirely new original feature, fresh details about an upcoming magical adventure and the first significant glimpse at the next chapter of one of Disney’s most successful modern franchises.

For Disney Animation, the D23 2026 presentation was essentially a statement of intent. The studio is betting on established characters such as Anna, Elsa, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, while simultaneously trying to build the next generation of original Disney classics.

Zootopia 3 is officially in early development

Perhaps the biggest surprise for Disney Animation fans was the confirmation that Zootopia 3 is officially in early development. Jared Bush was joined onstage by Ginnifer Goodwin, the voice of Judy Hopps, and Ke Huy Quan, who voices Gary De’Snake in Zootopia 2. Together, they confirmed that the next instalment in the Zootopia franchise is moving forward.

Disney did not announce a release date, meaning the project remains considerably further away than some of the other films shown during the presentation. However, the studio did give D23 attendees an exclusive custom sequence connected to the developing movie.

The announcement is hardly surprising given the extraordinary success of the franchise, but the speed at which Disney is moving forward with another sequel is notable. Zootopia 2 has established itself as one of Disney Animation’s major modern successes, giving Disney a powerful new franchise that can sit alongside Frozen, Moana and other long-running properties.

The third film will therefore have an interesting challenge. It will need to expand the world of Zootopia while finding another story worthy of Judy and Nick, rather than simply repeating the formula of the previous two films.

Clay brings a completely new world to Disney Animation

While Zootopia 3 was the franchise announcement, perhaps the most intriguing reveal from Disney Animation was Clay. Currently carrying the working title Clay, the film is an entirely new original animated feature that is already in production at Walt Disney Animation Studios.

The film follows Flip, a rebellious misfit who is unexpectedly selected during a yearly ritual to mentor Mushy, a young and impressionable ball of clay. Their relationship quickly turns into something much bigger, as the pair are swept into a chaotic adventure through a magical forest populated by fantastical creatures.

Kieran Culkin will provide the voice of Flip, while Fawn Veerasunthorn directs. Academy Award-winning producer Peter Del Vecho is producing the film. Disney has scheduled Clay for an exclusive theatrical release in 2028.

The project could prove to be one of the most important films on Disney Animation’s future slate because it represents something the studio increasingly needs: a completely new world with no existing franchise attached to it. That is particularly significant at a time when Disney, like much of Hollywood, is relying heavily on established intellectual property.

Clay therefore has the opportunity to become something more than another animated film. If audiences connect with Flip and Mushy, Disney could potentially have another original property capable of expanding beyond a single movie. The concept also gives Disney Animation room to experiment visually and tonally, with a magical forest and an unusual central character offering plenty of opportunities for the studio’s artists.

Hexed gets a major casting boost

Disney’s next original feature, Hexed, also received considerable attention at D23.

The film is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on 25th November 2026 and follows Billie Doe, an impulsive teenage girl who discovers that she possesses secret magical abilities. Billie is drawn into the mysterious world of Hexe alongside her cautious mother Alice, with the pair discovering a magical realm far removed from their ordinary suburban lives.

At D23, Hailee Steinfeld, who voices Billie, was joined by Walton Goggins and two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster. Goggins will voice Beef Roger Crummchuk, a reclusive three-eyed magical cat who forms an uneasy alliance with Billie and her mother. Foster, meanwhile, will voice Queen Celeste, a sinister figure determined to preserve her power over Hexe. The new casting gives Hexed an unusually strong voice cast, but the film is also significant because it represents another attempt by Disney Animation to create a completely original fantasy world.

The studio has already shown footage from Hexed at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, where directors Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand presented scenes from the film. D23 therefore served less as an introduction to Hexed and more as a major escalation of the marketing campaign ahead of its November release. With Disney Animation returning to a magical coming-of-age story, Hexed could become the studio’s next major test of whether an original property can break through alongside increasingly dominant franchise films.

Frozen 3 finally starts to reveal its secrets

Then came the announcement Disney fans had been waiting for.

Frozen 3 is coming to cinemas on 24th November 2027, with Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Olaf all returning for another adventure. Jennifer Lee returns as director alongside Trent Correy, with Christina Chen producing.

D23 attendees were treated to new animation featuring the returning characters, but Disney also provided the first major indication that the sisters’ next adventure will introduce a new threat.

The footage hinted at a mysterious new villainess whose powers may rival Elsa’s. That detail immediately raises the stakes for the third film.

Elsa has spent the previous two films discovering the nature and limits of her powers. Introducing another character capable of matching her abilities creates an opportunity for the filmmakers to explore what happens when Elsa encounters someone who is not simply another villain, but a genuine supernatural equal.

The D23 presentation also featured Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel performing a new version of “Frozen Heart”, while Josh Gad performed a new song about Olaf’s first crush, titled “Ooooh, Samantha”. Both songs were written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the songwriting duo responsible for the music of the previous Frozen films.

That musical component is important because Frozen has always been as much a musical phenomenon as an animation franchise. The first film produced songs that became cultural landmarks, while Frozen 2 demonstrated that Disney could build an enormous theatrical event around returning characters and new music.

Frozen 3 will therefore have to do more than simply continue Anna and Elsa’s story. It will have to create another collection of songs and emotional moments capable of matching the legacy of the first two films.

Disney Animation is leaning into both sequels and originals

Taken together, the announcements from D23 2026 reveal an interesting strategy for Walt Disney Animation Studios. On one side, Disney is expanding its biggest franchises.

Frozen 3 is arriving in 2027. Zootopia 3 is now in early development.

On the other side, the studio is continuing to develop original films such as Hexed and Clay. That balance could be crucial to Disney Animation’s future.

The studio has spent much of the past decade demonstrating the enormous commercial power of established properties. Frozen became a global phenomenon, Zootopia developed into a major franchise, and films such as Moana have continued to grow beyond their original theatrical releases.

But Disney Animation’s history has always depended on discovering something audiences did not already know they wanted. There was no existing Frozen audience before 2013. There was no established Zootopia franchise before 2016. The studio’s most enduring characters were once completely new creations.

That makes Clay particularly interesting. If Disney Animation wants to create the next Frozen or Zootopia, it cannot rely entirely on Frozen and Zootopia.

A new chapter for Walt Disney Animation Studios

The D23 2026 presentation did not reveal every film Disney Animation has in development, nor did it provide release dates for every project.

Instead, it gave audiences a snapshot of where the studio is heading. The immediate future belongs to Hexed, which arrives in November 2026. Frozen 3 follows in November 2027, while Clay is scheduled for 2028. Zootopia 3 remains in the earlier stages of development with its release date still to be announced.

What makes the slate particularly interesting is the mixture of familiarity and experimentation.

Frozen 3 gives Disney one of its safest and most recognisable brands. Zootopia 3 provides another opportunity to expand one of the studio’s most successful modern worlds. Hexed is an attempt to establish a new fantasy universe. Clay is an even more ambitious gamble on an original concept. That may ultimately be the most important takeaway from D23.

Disney Animation is not choosing between nostalgia and originality. It is attempting to pursue both at the same time. The next few years will determine whether the strategy works. If Frozen 3 and Zootopia 3 continue the commercial momentum of their predecessors while Hexed and Clay establish themselves as new favourites, Disney Animation could enter the next decade with an unusually broad collection of properties.

And if one of those original films becomes the next unexpected phenomenon, D23 2026 may eventually be remembered as the moment Disney quietly introduced audiences to its next big animated franchise.