15 Disney Movies That Continue Fox Film Franchises

For years, Walt Disney Studios has built successful franchises by drawing on popular properties like Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and both new and classic animated films. To stay competitive in the entertainment industry – and strengthen its position in the growing streaming market – Disney bought 21st Century Fox’s film studios in 2019 for $71.3 billion.

As a Disney fan, I was so excited about the 20th Century Studios deal! It brought a ton of well-known movies into the Disney family, giving them a chance to update classics for today’s viewers. Some, like Kingsman and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, were already well on their way to new movies before the deal even closed, which was great. It’s interesting to me that others, like Die Hard, haven’t been touched yet, even though Disney is always thinking about how to bring back other franchises.

As a film fan, I’ve been following the potential revivals of some classic franchises ever since Disney bought Fox. It’s been a few years now, and the studio has been toying with ideas for new movies in the Maze Runner, Conan the Barbarian, Escape From New York, Speed, and Master and Commander universes. Sadly, none of those projects have really gained traction and are still just concepts. It’s a stark contrast to what Disney’s done with other Fox properties – they’ve already figured out how to keep over a dozen different franchises going!

Home Sweet Home Alone

After buying the rights to several film franchises from Fox, Disney’s first project was a new installment of Home Alone. Announced in 2019, Home Sweet Home Alone premiered on Disney+ in 2021. It’s the sixth Home Alone movie and the first one released in nine years.

After the poor reception of Home Sweet Home Alone, there aren’t any current plans to make another Home Alone movie.

Death On The Nile

Kenneth Branagh’s series of films featuring Hercule Poirot continued with Disney’s involvement. After the first film, Murder on the Orient Express, did well, 20th Century Fox started working on a sequel just as Disney was acquiring the studio. Disney ultimately released the finished film in 2022, but it faced several delays due to problems during production and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although Death on the Nile didn’t make a profit at the box office (earning $137 million with a $100 million budget), Disney and 20th Century Studios were satisfied enough with how it performed during the pandemic to continue the series. They approved a third film starring Kenneth Branagh, A Haunting in Venice, which was released in 2023. Despite receiving better reviews, it earned less money ($122 million) than Death on the Nile.

The series might continue because 20th Century Studios is considering making more films based on Agatha Christie’s books.

Prey

Disney quickly focused on reviving the popular Predator franchise, despite a new movie having been released just before they acquired Fox. Their plans paid off in 2022 with Prey, a standalone prequel directed by Dan Trachtenberg.

I was blown away when this director’s Hulu release took off – it was a huge hit! The studio clearly saw something special and handed over the reins to the whole Predator universe. He didn’t disappoint, giving us a really cool animated anthology, Predator: Killer of Killers, and then a full-on live-action movie, Predator: Badlands, hit theaters in 2025.

The movie Prey has launched a fresh wave of Predator stories, and it looks like more are on the way. Director Trachtenberg is already developing new ideas within this universe, meaning we can expect to see the Predator series continue to expand.

Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again

Disney has revived the Night at the Museum series with an animated spin-off called Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again, which premiered in 2022. The new film features Larry Daley and his family—voiced by a new cast—as well as other familiar characters from the original Night at the Museum movies starring Ben Stiller.

As for whether we’ll see more of the Daley family’s museum escapades, it’s still up in the air – will it be animated, or will they go live-action? But here’s what I can tell you: Disney isn’t letting Night at the Museum disappear just yet. A reboot is officially in the works, slated for development in 2025, so it looks like there’s still life left in this franchise.

Avatar: The Way of Water

When Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, they took over the future Avatar movies. Even though Avatar: The Way of Water wasn’t released until 2022, a lot of the performance capture filming was finished before 2019, and some early work on the third film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, was also done. Disney committed to fully supporting these sci-fi sequels, aiming to bring audiences back to the world of Pandora.

Disney is now in charge of deciding when to make Avatar 4 and Avatar 5. The success of The Way of Water and the planned Fire and Ash have encouraged them to continue the Avatar series, though they’re also looking for ways to reduce production costs. Currently, Disney is aiming to release the next two movies in 2029 and 2031.

The First Omen

Disney is bringing back the Omen horror franchise, which originally started in 1976 and hasn’t had a new installment since a 2006 remake. They’ve approved a new prequel film directed by Arkasha Stevenson, and Nell Tiger Free will play the role of Damien’s mother.

As a horror fan, I really enjoyed The First Omen – it’s the sixth film in the series and critics seemed to like it too. It actually did pretty well at the box office, bringing in $54 million. But honestly, even with that success, there’s no word yet on whether they’ll make another one. It’s a bit frustrating, because I’m definitely interested in seeing where the story goes!

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

Just a few years after the last film in the original Planet of the Apes series, the franchise was revived with a new story set centuries later. Disney made Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes a key project following its purchase of 20th Century Fox.

Wes Ball’s movie revitalized the Planet of the Apes series, earning nearly $400 million worldwide. Disney is now working on a follow-up film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, though its release date is still to be announced. Plans include potentially making a trilogy centered around the character Noa, with the possibility of even more films if the new series proves successful.

Deadpool & Wolverine

When Disney acquired Fox, a major highlight for fans was Marvel Studios gaining the rights to the X-Men. Although a fresh start for the characters is planned, Disney knew they had to bring back Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool for another movie. The excitement really soared when Hugh Jackman agreed to reprise his role as Wolverine, making Deadpool & Wolverine one of the most eagerly awaited Marvel films since Avengers: Endgame.

Deadpool’s massive success – earning $1.3 billion – guarantees the character will continue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ryan Reynolds is already working on another project where Deadpool will appear as a supporting character. Many fans speculate that both Reynolds and Hugh Jackman could reprise their roles in future Avengers films, possibly Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.

Alien: Romulus

As a huge fan of the Alien films, it felt like only a matter of time before Disney revisited the franchise after acquiring Fox. It had been a while since Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, and honestly, things needed a fresh start. That’s where Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus comes in. What’s really cool is it takes place between the first two Alien movies, making it the seventh film in the series, and it’s introducing a whole new crew of characters. Apparently, there are some clever nods to the original films too, which I’m really excited about!

The movie Romulus earned $350 million in theaters, and Disney is already working on a follow-up. While director Fede Álvarez won’t be back for the sequel, stars Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson are likely to reprise their roles as Rain and Andy. Though a release date hasn’t been announced, the Alien franchise will continue.

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come

Disney and 20th Century Studios revived the horror series with a sequel to Ready or Not. Samara Weaving reprised her role in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, directed by Radio Silence. The film was both critically acclaimed and a commercial success, earning $42 million despite a $14 million production budget.

Unlike many other horror franchises, a sequel isn’t planned for Ready or Not. The ending of Ready or Not 2 concludes the story, and the studio hasn’t suggested any interest in continuing it with a third film.

2026-04-30 15:44