Disney Plus Day 2022 live blog — all the big news as it happens

Welcome to our Disney Plus Day 2022 live blog! We'll be updating this page regularly with all the news as it happens, so check back to see what's been announced.

As expected, Disney Plus has dropped a ton of content right at 3 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. BST.

The biggest title is Thor: Love and Thunder, which makes its streaming premiere. The MCU film first landed in theaters on July 8 and has grossed over $755 million worldwide. Now, you can watch (or re-watch) from the comfort of home!

Other Disney Plus Day new releases include:

Pinocchio: Director Robert Zemeckis mixes live action and animation in the latest adaptation of the classic tale, starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto and Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy.

She-Hulk: Disney Plus Day is also the She-Hulk episode 4 release date.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return: Go behind the scenes of the making of the series Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

Frozen and Frozen 2 Sing-Alongs: No, Disney will never "Let It Go." The animated blockbuster movies are getting new sing-along versions. 

Want more? You got it. Other new Disney Plus additions include: 

Cars on the Road: Lightning McQueen and Mater embark on a journey to meet with Mater's sister. 

Welcome to the Club: Lisa Simpson wants to be a Disney princess but discovers she might like breaking bad more.

Assembled: Thor: Love and Thunder: The latest installment of the series goes behind the scenes of the MCU movie.

Tierra Incógnita: The Argentinian horror series follows a teen as he investigates the mystery of his parents' disappearance in a rundown theme park. 

Dancing with the Stars: The Pros' Most Memorable Dances: A look back at 20 unforgettable dance routines drawn from 30 seasons of the reality competition series.

Epic Adventures With Bertie Gregory: The National Geographic docu-series sees the explorer immersing himself in the lives of wild animals.

Growing Up: Each episode of the docu-series uses innovative filmmaking techniques to chronicle one teen's coming-of-age story. 

Remembering: The short film follows an idea lost by a writer (Brie Larson) into the World of Imagination.

What else can fans expect from Disney Plus Day 2022? If this year's virtual party is like last year's, then the House of Mouse will unveil a bunch of trailers, teasers and announcements about upcoming projects from Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar. 

Last year brought an Obi-Wan Kenobi teaser, as well as new footage from Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and Moon Knight. 

This year, we're hoping for a teaser or really just anything about The Mandalorian season 3. The drought has been long and fans are thirsty!

Perhaps Marvel will drop a full trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever or footage from Star Wars: Ahsoka, Secret Invasion or Ant-Man 3. 

We'd also love to get more info about Loki season 2 or whether there will be a Ms. Marvel season 2.

It looks like Disney Plus day is now in full swing. We've already seen some anticipated, but not unexpected titles hit the service, though Disney had a couple of surprises up its sleeve. The biggest of which is the release of BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage — LA.

That is a concert movie from one of the biggest bands in the world, South Korean boyband BTS. The movie was filmed at the Los Angeles Sci-Fi Stadium in late 2021, and features the band performing some of their biggest hits. That, of course, includes the Grammy-nominated Permission to Dance, which shares its name with the show.

If you, or someone you know, is a BTS fanatic, then this is going to be two hours well spent. And it's available right now, in full, on Disney Plus.

Another surprise release for Disney Plus day isn't a huge surprise, but it's still a welcome one. There is a nine-minute sneak preview of the next big Star Wars TV series, Andor, for you to check out. But only on Disney Plus, because after all today isn't YouTube day.

The special includes a behind-the-scenes look at the show, with creator Tony Gilroy and Cassian Andor actor Diego Luna, alongside an extended clip from what appears to be the first episode. That features Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) seemingly meeting Cassian for the very first time. Finally, in case you weren't hyped up for the show enough, it ends with a trailer.

Andor is a prequel to Rogue One, and showcases who Cassian is and why he became such an ardent believer in the rebellion. A side plot focuses on rebel leader, and Galactic Senator, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) as she navigates the perils of politics in the age of the Empire.

The show hits Disney Plus on September 21, with a three-episode premiere.

It wouldn't be a big Disney Plus event without another Simpsons short to go with it. This time Lisa has her heart set on transforming into the ultimate Disney princess. Unfortunately princesses always end up in the path of villains, who are looking to corrupt Lisa and show her how much fun being a villain really is.

Of course this is The Simpsons, and they're not above lampooning their corporate owners. Combine that with an array of villainous cameos, and you have "Welcome to the Club". Thankfully it's a heck of a lot better than some of the other Simpsons shorts we've had since Disney Plus launched.

We're still waiting to see if Disney Plus Day brings us a new trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. We are hopeful considering D23 Expo is also this weekend, but this is still a waiting game. That said, if you're into Wakanda's premier superhero, you'll be happy to hear that a big ol' Lego set was announced this morning.

As you can see above, it's a bust of T'Challa from the first movie, complete with the cross-armed Wakandan salute. That's optional though, so you can display this bad boy with or without the claws. It's certainly a step-up from Lego's helmet collection, not that we're complaining about them.

The set will arrive on October 1, giving you ample time to build it before the next movie. It does cost $350, which is a lot, but the set is 19-inches high and is made up of 2,961 pieces. 

🎵Do you wanna annoy some parents?🎵 We suspect Disney is about to do just that over the coming weekend, now that Disney has added sing-along versions of Frozen and Frozen II.

That's another Disney Plus Day treat — listening to your children singing an off-key versions of Let it Go or the snowman-building song.  Now might be a good time to familiarize yourself with how to set-up Disney Plus parental controls, and see if you can block them from watching Frozen ever again. 

At least not without your explicit permission, and only after the noise-cancelling headphones arrive.

Arguably the most controversial trend of the past several years is Disney's focus on making live-action versions of its animated classics. The newest one is Pinocchio, and arrived today as part of the Disney Plus Day celebrations.

We haven't seen the movie yet, so we can't say how good it is or whether it deviates from the 1940 original. But judging from past live action remakes, Pinocchio is going to be pretty close to the original — even if some Tom's Guide staff find the CGI puppet rather unnerving.

Benjamin Evan Ainsworth plays the titular puppet, while Tom Hanks plays his father Geppetto. Jiminy Cricket is voiced by Joseph Gordon Levitt, while Cynthia Erivo takes on the role of the Blue Fairy. Also starring is Keegan-Michael Key, Lorraine Bracco and Luke Evans. 

Of course if you're not into Disney's live action strategy, the original animated Pinocchio is still readily available on Disney Plus. 

There's a good amount of new content arriving as part of the Disney Plus Day celebrations. As much as we'd like to watch Thor: Love and Thunder or a remake of Pinocchio, there's also Remembering — a short starring Brie Larson.

Larson plays a writer that forgets an idea because her pesky phone rings. But rather that being lost forever, that light ends up in the hand's of the writer's inner child. Cue a journey through the world of imagination over the course of eight minutes.

But this is more than just a short because you can bring some of that magic out into the real world. Sort of, anyway, because it's all done with augmented reality and it's only available on iOS devices. Click the link to go to the Disney Remembering webpage, or click here to go straight to the App Store.

It's worth reiterating that Disney Plus Day isn't just about new content and trailers — there's also a very good deal up for grabs.

This Disney Plus Day deal will enable you to claim a month of Disney Plus for just $1.99 (or £1.99 in the UK / AU$1.99 in Australia), down from the usual $7.99. That's a pretty great offer for a service that has as much to watch as Disney Plus. 

It's available through September 19, so why not give it a try and see how many Marvel movies and shows you can fit into a month.  

Hope you like some cha-cha with your morning coffee! Since Dancing With The Stars is coming to Disney Plus, we're not surprised that Disney Plus Day is when we got the full cast reveal for DwtS season 31. Some of the biggest names on the show include actors Cheryl Ladd (Charlie's Angels), Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions), Trevor Donovan (90210), Daniel Durant (CODA) and Jason Lewis (Sex and the City).

The cast includes many a reality TV show star, including American Idol star Jordin Sparks, The Bachelorette‘s Gabby Windey, The Jersey Shore‘s Vinny Guadagnino, The Real Housewives of New Jersey‘s Teresa Giudice. One of the most notable contestants is RuPaul’s Drag Race star Shangela, who will be dancing with a male partner and be the first contestant to compete in full drag. 

Social media stars Charli D’Amelio and Heidi D’Amelio are also on the list, as is Wayne Brady, Jessie James Decker, Joseph Baena and Sam Champion.

As you may know, She-Hulk episode 4 is one of the many Disney Plus Day drops. But Jennifer Walters' latest adventure also contains an annoying surprise for some. She-Hulk episode 4 spoils The Sopranos (for laughs) twice. 

We won't get into the nitty gritty of it all here, but safe to say one character keeps blurting out spoilers for the series. And it's not just going to upset some audiences, but one character in She-Hulk is annoyed by the spoilers, as they're still watching The Sopranos!

In addition to the streaming premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder, a new Marvel Studios Assembled documentary goes behind the scenes of the movie. Director Taika Waititi and stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson talk about making the movie. Plus, you can get a glimpse at how filming was done in "the Volume," the LED immersive soundstage initially developed for The Mandalorian.  

The character Pinocchio is a cultural icon who has been reimagined an untold amount of times in books, plays and movies. One of the most famous adaptations, of course, is the 1940 Disney animated film, which was the House of Mouse's second after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

Now, the classic tale is being retold by director Robert Zemeckis and a cast including Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In this video, the team behind the new movie — which dropped on Disney Plus today — share their nostalgic memories of the predecessor.

Hi there, I'm Tom's Guide streaming editor Henry T. Casey, and I'm taking over this Disney Plus Day live blog for the rest of the day.

Director Robert Zemeckis' Pinocchio is both one of the bigger Disney Plus Day releases and one of two movies that come out this year about the marionette who comes to life, and it looks like the critics are hoping the next edition is far better. Over on Rotten Tomatoes, Pinocchio currently has a 35% critics score and a 45% audience score. 

Alex Godfrey at Empire writes "this scattershot grab-bag of good intentions results in a bit of an emotional flatline. This puppet will not tug on your heartstrings." John Anderson at The Wall Street Journal chimed in to say "The Blue Fairy may have brought life to Pinocchio, but no one here is delivering anything particularly fresh." A positive review came from Richard Roeper at the Chicago Sun-Times, who wrote "Every frame of Pinocchio is filled with rich and lush detail — at times this almost looks like a 3-D film — and the performances, whether live action or voiced, are universally excellent."

As you may have seen, there's a big Disney Plus Day deal available right now, which chops a month of Disney Plus to just $1.99 (or £1.99 in the UK / AU$1.99 in Australia). The regular $7.99 per month price resumes the next month. Basically, this is Disney's way to reel you back in, or your way to finally try She-Hulk or watch Thor: Love and Thunder at home.

But this deal is arriving right before an annoying moment for Disney Plus subscribers. A Disney Plus price hike starting Dec. 8, 2022 will mean the ad-free Disney Plus will cost $10.99 — a price hike of $3 per month. If you don't want to pay more? Well, Disney Plus Basic is the new ad-supported Disney Plus tier (it too arrives on Dec. 8), and it will keep the existing $7.99 per month price.

If you use Hulu or ESPN Plus, there is a way to try and resist the price hike and still save. The $13.99 per month Disney Bundle (soon to become $14.99), will offer ad-free Disney Plus, along with ad-supported Hulu and ESPN Plus. That will give you monthly savings of $13.98 vs buying all three services together. But that deal is also around $4 less than buying those versions of Disney Plus and Hulu on their own, so it's what we recommend even if you don't use ESPN Plus.

Cars fans rejoice today, as Lightning (voiced by Owen Wilson) and Mater (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) returned for Disney Plus Day in Cars on the Road. This series of nine short episodes (whose lengths go from nine to 13 minutes a piece) look to offer a pleasant way to spend a little over an hour and a half (total running time is 99 minutes).

While Cars on the Road doesn't have enough reviews to net a consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, we have found some reviews worth quoting. Yasmine Kandil at DiscussingFilm gave Cars on the Road a 3.5-star rating, and says that on their way to Mater's older sister's wedding, the two protagonists have "to face vibrant and surprising obstacles every time. This Pixar series certainly doesn’t lack in its pure imagination." As for who it's for? Kandil notes "it does offer plenty of things to adore" for the slightly older audiences while it "could serve as an easy-to-watch and hilarious introduction for your siblings."

Over at What's On Disney Plus, Roger Palmer writes "Overall, Cars On The Road is a fun-filled collection of shorts that captures the spirit of Cars and delivers a delightful series of shorts, that’s full of the charm of the films."

Disney Plus Day also gave us a sneak peek at the upcoming Star Wars series Andor, which debuts on the streaming service with three episodes on September 21. I've been excited for Andor since the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, where we met The Path, a sort of proto-rebellion group that was helping Jedis and Force-sensitive people escape Order 66. That story was told so well that it got me excited for Andor, which is supposedly the story of both how the Rebel Alliance began, and how Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) became the man we met in Rogue One.

I say all this to recommend you go out of your way to watch Andor: A Disney Plus Day Special Look — a nine-minute feature I saw in August when I went to see Rogue One on IMAX. Not only does it do a good job of reminding folks what Andor is going to be about, but it shows you a scene between Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) and Cassian, which was a bit of a surprise to me in terms of what Skarsgård's character is all about.

Disney looks like it's putting all of its eggs in the streaming basket, and that's what Disney Plus Day seems to celebrate. Or at least it looks like that up until we get news that Wall•E is getting a physical release — and one outside of Disney's sales. 

Yes, folks, Wall•E is getting a Criterion Collection release. Not only will your copy be pristine (those who buy physical 4K copies know it always looks better than streaming), thanks to a 4K digital master, presented with Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10+, but you're getting multiple commentary tracks. One track features director Andrew Stanton and the other has character supervisor Bill Wise, coproducer Lindsey Collins, story artist Derek Thompson and lead animator Angus MacLane. It arrives on Nov 22, 2022, and is on pre-order at Criterion, currently marked down to $39.96 (from $49.95).

Where, we ask, is the freaking Mandalorian season 3 trailer? It's nearly two months after the folks at the Star Wars Celebration in July saw a lengthy Mando season 3 trailer that leaked in very low quality onto the internet.  

So, we thought today would have been a perfect day for that trailer to arrive. It didn't even need to be on YouTube (though it should be), it could have been hidden behind the Disney Plus paywall. And, yet, nothing so far. Weird, right? 

We've already had Star Wars Day (May 4th) and San Diego Comic-Con, so if The Mandalorian season 3 is coming in February 2023? When else would be perfect to release a trailer that's seemingly already done? Sure, they may have had little final touches to make on CGI (so we don't get a repeat of this Book of Boba Fett mistake), but this should be the day, right?

Did you hear all the criticism about Thor: Love and Thunder's CGI graphics? Even director Taika Waititi and star Tessa Thompson had a laugh about them. Well, it looks like someone over at Marvel Studios was paying attention to the criticism. Twitter user @comicxbook has created a side-by-side look at how Axl (formerly known as Astrid), Heimdall's son, looks when sending a message to New Asgard. While Axl may look clearer in this new version, he also looks more CGI. At least that's what we think. What do you think?

Disney, especially via Pixar, has gotten very good at being 'meta' as of late (the recent Chip N Dale movie, Soul and Inside Out come to mind). Its latest is Remembering, an eight-minute short from director Elijah Allan-Blitz. Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) stars in this bite-sized bit of entertainment that ponders how imagination works. It even has an Augmented Reality companion app, giving users the ability to get more out of the story by pointing their phone at the screen.

Above, you can find a short look at Remembering (which is pretty short on its own already).

Yes, there is plenty of Alligator Loki merch online already, but Disney isn't letting that stop them. Its 'rebus' line of Disney Plus Day merchandise (which includes a Book of Boba Fett shirt with a book and the bounty hunter's helmet) includes the above Alligator Loki shirt, which costs $29. Disney's also got shirts for Buzz Lightyear and Hawkeye's Pizza Dog. Aside from being very easy mini puzzles to solve, the shirts feature the "+" symbol remind you about Disney Plus (which also has its logo on the bottom corner of the graphic).

For those who felt like Disney Plus' Obi-Wan Kenobi show didn't go long enough, Disney Plus Day includes an hour-long treat just for you. No, it's not a bonus episode (this isn't Netflix's The Sandman), but a behind-the-scenes documentary special. Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return starts with archival interview footage with Sir Alec Guinness, but quickly moves to narration from Ewan McGregor who speaks in an excited tone about the Star Wars movies, and his titular role. Watching it myself, I can say the interviews with director Deborah Chow and stars Moses Ingram, Kumail Nanjiani and O'Shea Jackson Jr. also add a ton to the project, as you see how these fans of the series experienced time on set. We even get time with Vivien Lyra Blair. 

Of course, some of y'all want to know when to fast-forward to for Hayden Christiansen. You'll want to see the moment he shares with McGregor at 27 minutes in, and it's great to see the actor talking about his connection with the role.

This above sizzle reel reminded me of something. In terms of everything that hit Disney Plus this past year, I can't say the following enough: if you haven't seen Turning Red you're missing out. When Disney Plus is struggling to release great movies and shows that are unique stories — and not MCU or Star Wars spinoffs — this Disney and Pixar animated film is a real treat. Right next to Ms. Marvel, it proves that stories about kids having trouble growing up and dealing with parents who just don't understand are still compelling no matter how old you are (I'm 37).