Disney Reveals The New Faces Of Marvel, Star Wars & Pixar For 2026

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Disney recently announced its ambassadors for 2026, revealing which characters will be featured on products and in marketing campaigns. The announcement came through materials promoting The Market, a large shopping event in Japan. These characters will represent Disney’s key areas like merchandise and licensing throughout the year.

Disney is launching ‘The Market,’ a huge shopping event, starting in Tokyo, Japan, from February 25th to March 16th. After Tokyo, the event will move to other cities in Japan, like Ishikawa and Osaka.

Disney’s biggest shopping event, Disney THE MARKET, is coming soon! The 2026 theme is “Star,” and guests can look forward to magical experiences featuring all their favorite Disney characters.

Even if you can’t attend the event, it’s interesting to see which characters and films Disney chooses to showcase from its biggest studios – like Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney Animation.

These featured characters show us which ones Disney thinks will be most popular for promotions, products, and branding in 2026. With major films like Avengers: Doomsday, The Mandalorian & Grogu, Toy Story 5, and others coming out, Disney has a lot of strong contenders this year.

The 5 Leading Figures Across Disney’s Top Franchises In 2026

Mickey Mouse – Classic Disney

Mickey Mouse continues to be the face of Disney. He’s a classic character who embodies the company’s history and lasting popularity with people of all ages and around the world.

Mickey Mouse, first appearing in 1928, has become more than just a character – he represents the entire Disney brand. For people around the world, Mickey’s iconic look – his shape, ears, gloves, and shorts – is instantly associated with Disney.

Disney consistently uses Mickey Mouse in its marketing to convey a sense of reliability. Unlike franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, which feature different characters depending on the latest movie, Mickey remains a constant symbol of the Disney brand, no matter what films are being released.

Mickey is a great choice for 2026 because he’s beloved by people of all ages. Grandparents remember his early cartoons, parents enjoyed him at Disney parks when they were young, and today’s children are fans of shows like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mickey Mouse Funhouse.

Mickey Mouse is still incredibly popular for merchandise. His design looks great on everything – from stuffed animals and clothes to household items and souvenirs you’d find at a theme park. He’s a truly versatile character when it comes to products.

Spider-Man – Marvel

Spider-Man will continue to be Marvel’s main hero through 2026, remaining a central figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The character’s design in the upcoming release, due July 31st, is inspired by Tom Holland’s suit from the Spider-Man: Brand New Day comics.

This choice is a smart move for Marvel. Brand New Day is set to be their big superhero film of 2026. The movie will showcase Tom Holland in a fresh costume – brighter reds and blues with a larger spider symbol, more in line with the classic comic book look than his previous outfits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In August 2025, Holland unveiled the new Spider-Man suit and shared photos from the start of filming. The costume stays true to classic Spider-Man designs but with the high quality visual effects fans expect from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Promotional images featuring the suit are perfectly timed to generate excitement for the movie’s summer launch.

As a big Spider-Man fan, I’m really excited about Brand New Day! It picks up right after the crazy events of No Way Home, where everyone forgot Peter Parker. This story seems to be focusing on more grounded, local villains like Scorpion, Tombstone, Boomerang, and Tarantula, but there are rumors of some awesome cameos from characters like the Punisher and even the Hulk! It’s shaping up to be a really interesting chapter in Peter’s life.

Spider-Man is Marvel’s most popular character and a perfect fit for events like The Market. He’s beloved by people of all ages and backgrounds, and especially popular in Japan, where the event is held.

Nicolas Cage stars in Spider-Noir, which will start streaming on Prime Video on May 27th. With several Spider-Man related projects coming out soon, you can expect to see a lot of advertising for them.

The Mandalorian & Grogu – Star Wars

The upcoming movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu, is set to bring the world of Star Wars back to theaters on May 22nd. It will be the first Star Wars film released in cinemas since The Rise of Skywalker.

As a movie lover, it’s clear why Grogu is such a big deal. He’s completely broken out of the usual Star Wars fanbase and become a pop culture icon. Honestly, even people who haven’t seen The Mandalorian still know who ‘Baby Yoda’ is – that’s how impactful he’s been!

Grogu has become a huge merchandising hit. Despite not being on screen for very long, he’s generated hundreds of millions of dollars in toy and product sales. His cute appearance makes him popular with everyone, even those who aren’t familiar with Star Wars.

This movie picks up where Season 3 of The Mandalorian left off, continuing the adventures of Din Djarin and Grogu. Pedro Pascal is back as the main character, and the cast also includes Sigourney Weaver and Jeremy Allen White.

Using Mando and Grogu in Star Wars promotions leverages their existing fanbase and generates excitement for the new movies.

Woody – Pixar

Pixar is using updated artwork of Woody to promote their films through 2026, timed with the release of Toy Story 5 on June 19th. Even though Toy Story 4 felt like the end of his story, Woody is still Pixar’s most recognizable character.

In Toy Story 5, Woody and Buzz Lightyear return with their friends for a new adventure that explores the clash between classic toys and modern technology. The story centers around Bonnie’s growing attachment to a tablet game character named Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee), which causes the traditional toys to question their place in her life.

Tom Hanks reprises his role as Woody after the events of Toy Story 4, where Woody chose to help lost toys. Pixar’s creative head, Pete Docter, has revealed that Woody is brought back to assist when new technology puts playtime at risk.

When the first trailer for the new Toy Story movie came out in November 2025, it quickly became a hit, racking up 142 million views in just one day and showing how excited people were for it.

Choosing Woody as the central character over Buzz highlights his importance to the series. Although Buzz is funny and adds exciting action, Woody truly represents the heart of Toy Story, focusing on themes of loyalty, friendship, and discovering what gives life meaning.

Woody still has huge potential for merchandise sales. You can find him on all kinds of toys, from stuffed animals to collectible figurines. His cowboy look also makes him instantly recognizable and different from other Pixar characters.

Elsa & Anna – Disney Animation

Despite Frozen 3 not coming out until November 24, 2027, Elsa and Anna will continue to be the faces of Disney Animation in 2026. Their lasting popularity with audiences makes this continued marketing presence well-deserved.

The movie Frozen was a massive hit, going beyond what people usually expect from Disney princess stories. Its sequel, Frozen II, made $1.45 billion around the world in 2019, making it the highest-grossing animated film of all time—until Inside Out 2 earned more in 2024.

The Frozen franchise continues to be incredibly popular, earning billions of dollars each year through merchandise. Everything from dolls and clothing to music and theme park experiences remains in high demand, even long after the movies first came out.

Concept art for Frozen 3, unveiled at D23 2024, depicts Elsa and Anna on horseback traveling towards a strange city in the sky.

Jennifer Lee and Trent Correy directed the film, which features the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Groff. Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote new songs for the movie, aiming to create another hit as popular as their song “Let It Go.”

Disney has announced that Frozen 4 is officially in the works, and they’re filming it alongside another Frozen sequel. This is a big investment that shows how much faith Disney has in the future of the Frozen movies.

Continuing to showcase Elsa and Anna in 2026 will keep the Frozen franchise top-of-mind as fans await the 2027 release of Frozen 3. The sisters are central to Disney Animation’s success and help maintain its popularity.

Disney showcased its plans for major franchises through 2026 in a promotional ad for its “The Market” event. Several popular characters, like Woody, The Mandalorian and Grogu, and Spider-Man, received new looks that align with their upcoming movies this year.

Disney showcased characters from its major brands like Marvel, Star Wars, Disney Animation, and Pixar. Three characters who appeared at the 2025 “The Market” event will return in 2026 to represent their franchises again.

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2026-02-17 19:08