Disney has officially confirmed a new Princess and the Frog special is in active production for Disney+, featuring new songs and members of the original cast. Walt Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer Jared Bush made the announcement exclusively to Collider at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, describing the project as a complete story rather than a series or collection of shorts.
“It is a special set in the world of The Princess and the Frog,” Bush said. “We are really moving on that right now. So, that’s actually in active production. That will be out to people soon. New songs. Original cast. It is pretty spectacular.” Pressed for further details, Bush remained guarded on timing and specific cast members, but confirmed the format directly: “It’s not shorts. It’s a full story with a lot of songs as part of it.”
As we reported last year, this news follows the cancellation of Tiana, the musical spinoff series that had been in development at Disney+ since 2020, intended to follow the character after the events of the original film as she took on her role as Princess of Maldonia. Joyce Sherri had been set as lead writer and director, with Stella Meghie remaining on as executive producer alongside Jennifer Lee, and Nathan Curtis producing. The series was delayed multiple times, from an original 2023 target to 2024, before Disney shelved it entirely in March 2025 as part of a broader pivot away from longform animated content for streaming, a decision that also affected an unannounced streaming feature and led to layoffs at Disney’s Vancouver animation studio. At the time, Disney confirmed it was already in early development on a shortform special as a smaller-scale alternative, with Sherri still attached, though few details were known beyond that.
Today’s confirmation marks the first real update since that reporting, with Bush now describing the project as considerably more developed than the “shortform” framing originally suggested, a full musical story rather than a handful of shorts. The original The Princess and the Frog, released in 2009 from directors John Musker and Ron Clements, grossed $271 million on a $105 million budget and holds an 86% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film starred Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, John Goodman, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, and Terrence Howard, though Disney has not yet confirmed which cast members are returning for the new special.
The news also lands alongside a separate, previously reported live-action Princess and the Frog remake, with Colman Domingo reportedly attached as co-writer, meaning Tiana’s world is now expanding across two different formats simultaneously after years of stalled momentum.
With a full musical story now confirmed and in production, nearly a year after fans were told the character’s next chapter had been shelved entirely, the real test will be whether Disney can deliver a special substantial enough to make up for what was lost when the series was canceled.