When Disney+ launched, it quickly became the norm for movies to premiere on the service. Made specifically for streaming, these titles ranged from original tales to remakes of Disney Animation classics like Lady and the Tramp and Pinocchio.
However, since Bob Iger's return as Disney CEO, the studio has shifted away from making movies for streaming in an effort to increase profits.
It adds up because spending close to $100 million (if not more) on a movie in the hope of boosting Disney+'s subscriber count doesn't ultimately produce the same financial reward as a successful theatrical run. That's why Lilo & Stitch has shifted from being a streaming exclusive to a big screen release heading our way on May 23, 2025.
Thanks to Toonado.com, we have a new look at Experiment 626 in the movie's first official still and he's undeniably adorable...and mischievous!
Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp and produced by Jonathan Eirich and Dan Lin, Lilo & Stitch is a live-action reimagining of the animated classic.
The movie is a tale of a young girl's close encounter with the galaxy's most wanted extraterrestrial. Lilo is a lonely Hawaiian girl who adopts a small ugly "dog," whom she names Stitch. Stitch would be the perfect pet if he weren't in reality a genetic experiment who has escaped from an alien planet and crash-landed on Earth.
Starring Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere and Chris Sanders, with Courtney B. Vance and Zach Galifianakis, a new look at the wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family can be seen below.
In other animation news, Disney has also announced that Ice Age 6 is officially in production. Another franchise inherited by the studio after it acquired 20th Century Fox, it was previously relaunched on Disney+ with the Simon Pegg-led The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild.
However, this movie will be a true sequel with returning stars Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, and Simon Pegg.
You can watch the announcement video below.
There weren't a huge number of announcements to come out of D23 Brazil, but Disney Animation has confirmed that Shakira will reprise her role as Gazelle in the upcoming Zootopia sequel ahead of its release in theaters next November.