D23’s highly anticipated Disney Entertainment Showcase Panel is underway, and already, a number of surprises have been revealed, from Coco 2, which will feature a heartwarming reunion between main character Miguel and Mamá Coco, who passed away at the end of Coco, to concept art and plot details for Incredibles 3 confirming that supers are now legal (but other problems persist) and so much more. Now, yet another Disney movie sequel has been confirmed, although the predecessor for this particular sequel was much more recent.
Namely, the 2025 live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch is officially getting a sequel, Lilo & Stitch 2, and in addition to a confirmed release date of summer 2028 for the upcoming movie, the sneak peek shared at the panel has revealed that a fan-favorite character, who was introduced in the animated Lilo & Stitch series, is finally making her live-action debut after not appearing in the first film: Angel, Stitch’s pink love interest.
Lilo & Stitch 2 is coming in Summer 2028, here’s the first look at Angel! pic.twitter.com/0mwREQrW2m
Although Lilo & Stitch arguably didn’t face quite the same vitriol as some of its Disney live-action remake counterparts, such as Snow White, the movie was met with much of the same backlash and fan frustration that have now become standard for projects of this kind. In fact, live-action Lilo & Stitch in particular received backlash because, rather than failing to add anything new (a complaint about live-action Moana), this movie made some major changes to the original. Most notably, at the end of live-action Lilo & Stitch, Nani does not keep custody of Lilo and instead goes to college—something that did not go over well with most audiences, especially fans of the original.
It’s therefore somewhat surprising that Disney is making a sequel so quickly, although given how unpopular the live-action remakes have proven to be overall, yet Disney continues to put them out, perhaps it shouldn’t be too shocking. The introduction of Angel does offer some hope, though. Despite not appearing in the original Lilo & Stitch movie, when Angel was ultimately introduced, she became a very popular character, and she is certainly someone that audiences have expressed interest in seeing on screen. Her debut for Lilo & Stitch 2 will also be interesting because, in the show, Angel becomes a love interest for Stitch.
If that is indeed her role in the upcoming movie, then perhaps the sequel will focus more heavily on Stitch, just as the series frequently did. That might even make more sense for Lilo & Stitch 2, considering that Nani is (presumably) off at college at this time. A story focused on Lilo, Stitch, and Angel could offer a narrative that makes Nani’s absence easier, although there’s little doubt that she will still be appearing in the movie in some capacity. In fact, it will be especially interesting to see how the new movie navigates that, as this is very unfamiliar territory in terms of what was done in the other (animated) Lilo & Stitch sequels and spinoffs.
