This past weekend at its annual D23 fan expo event, Walt Disney Animation Studios revealed its first original, non-sequel film since the disastrous critical and commercial release of Wish in 2023.
Chief Creative Officer Jared Bush took the stage at the popular fan event and revealed Hexed to the audience and wider global Disney fanbase, a film whose main protagonist will be an oddball teenager and his mom, who shockingly discover that his innate strangeness is actually due to the fact that he possess the ability to perform magic.
The project is being co-directed by Josie Trinidad (Zootopia+) and Jason Hand (Moana 2).
Disney also shared the film’s official logline: “An awkward teenage boy and his Type-A mom discover that what makes him unusual might just be magical powers that will turn their lives—and a secret world of magic—upside down.”
Hexed is slated for release in November 2026, though no specific date has been confirmed.
The last non-sequel released by Walt Disney Animation Studios in theaters that actually achieved solid box office numbers was 2016's Moana.
Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto, and Strange World were all negatively impacted at the box office by the Covid-19 pandemic, while 2023's Wish simply failed to resonate with audiences.
Coming off Moana 2, Hexed finds itself sandwiched between Zootopia 2 and Frozen III, making this an important release for the studio's leadership in determining what amount of assets should be focused on original concepts.
Currently, Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat and Netflix's Narnia adaptation are also set for release in November 2026 but it's likely that Hexed will face more competition for family entertainment spending as the 2026 theatrical release calendar continues to fill up in the coming months.