The Walt Disney Company is taking over the world! Known these days mostly for acquiring some of the biggest brands in entertainment, Disney is not showing any signs of slowing down. As if owning and operating notable networks such as ABC and ESPN is not significant enough, the company has made a valiant effort to continue to dominate in the film industry by taking possession of major film properties. In less than ten years, Marvel, Lucasfilm Ltd., and 20th Century Fox have all become Walt Disney Company subsidiaries.

It’s no secret which company is slated to produce the most films every year for the foreseeable future, a bright future given their reputation for consistently creating quality motion pictures.

While a majority of their popular flicks are based on comic books, Disney has more to offer next year, some of them exciting moviegoers more than upcoming installments that are crucial to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here are the five most anticipated Disney movies coming next year:

5. 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'

Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly will be reprising their roles as Scott Lang and Hope Pym only this time, Lilly will be seen in the superhero suit for the first time as Hope becomes the Wasp. That alone is enough for some Marvel enthusiasts to pay for a movie ticket but what makes this one highly anticipated is the fact that the first movie was actually good! Disney managed to make a movie about Ant-Man and make the audience care about one of the smaller characters in the Marvel Universe, pun intended.

2015’s “Ant-Man” was fun, filled with humor, and a bit emotional at the right moments. The brief cameo in “Captain America: Civil War” in addition to the unexpected enjoyment that the first movie provided makes Ant-Man somewhat of a fan favorite in the list of characters Disney managed to get people invested in.

4. 'Black Panther'

In less than two months, another movie about a lesser known Marvel character will hit theaters. Chadwick Boseman, who debuted in “Captain America: Civil War” as T’Challa, will play the lead role in his own movie all about the King of Wakanda. Alongside him will be one of the most star-studded film casts in recent memory.

The supporting roles in "Black Panther” will be played by amazing actors such as Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, and Forest Whitaker to name a few. That lineup is RIDICULOUS and the list goes on and on. Comic book fans aside, this assembly of top-notch actors can make for one of the best-acted superhero films ever. Such extraordinary casting guarantees that the movie is much more than what can be seen in the trailer which appears to be jam-packed with riveting action sequences.

3. 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'

Surprise! Didn’t think a Star Wars movie would miss the top 2, did you? Well, you can still think that because this is not necessarily a Star Wars film but a film about a Star Wars character.

One of the most beloved characters in the saga at that. However, Harrison Ford will not be playing the lead as Han Solo. In fact, the movie will focus on a young Han Solo and will be acted by Alden Ehrenreich. We know how much Star Wars fans like their source material, just look at how polarizing the last movie was.

Unlike “The Last Jedi,” “Solo” will feature virtually no actors that have been in Star Wars movies before. It won’t be the first time we see a spin-off of one of the biggest pop culture phenomena. Last year, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” blew everyone away and brought comfort to those who were skeptical about one-offs that don’t continue the storied episodic line of films. Director Ron Howard and the actors cast fight an uphill battle to please lifelong fans of these characters but don’t have to worry about putting butts in seats.

After all, it IS Star Wars.

2. 'The Incredibles 2'

14 long years after the family of superheroes known as “The Incredibles” were introduced in theaters, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack are back to make us laugh and cry… again. Any movie that takes that long to get a sequel would get people excited once a sequel is on its way but this is different. The demographic for Pixar’s animated movies are young children but really, people of all ages watch and enjoy them. The kids that remember watching “The Incredibles” in 2004 fall into the late teen/young adult range of viewers today.

Growing out of cartoons is one thing, getting a sequel to a great movie with lovable characters no one expected to see revisited is apparently a whole other deal.

A live-action movie sequel using nostalgia more than a decade later to lure the audience can fall flat or considered a cheap trope because things change quickly in the real world. Moviegoers fond of The Incredibles can be hopeful since animated films can recreate the feeling those moments in your memory gave you years ago… and they are.

1. 'Avengers: Infinity War'

The granddaddy of all comic book based superhero movies. The culmination of a decade-long multi-movie storytelling build up will finally come to a head. Once considered to be a two-parter, “Infinity War” is now set to be its own movie, the 3rd Avengers film. What used to be marketed as “Infinity War Part 2” is now listed on IMDB an untitled 4th Avengers movie.

Because of it, the anticipation for this flick is slightly higher than it once was, if that’s even possible. Before “Infinity War” was in pre-production, comic book connoisseurs were salivating at the thought of one day seeing all the Marvel Cinematic Universe characters together in one movie. Subtle hints in the MCU suggested this would someday happen and here we are, less than 5 months away.

Late last month, an official trailer was finally revealed, and it broke YouTube records in its first day out becoming the most viewed YouTube video in a 24-hour period with 230 million views and the most liked video with 1 million likes. Marvel has perfectly built up to this point starting with the groundbreaking “Iron Man” in 2008, and ten years later, every Marvel superhero who’s been in the movies will battle supervillain Thanos to bring to the big screen one of the most cataclysmic events in comic book history. Avengers: Infinity War is without a doubt the most anticipated Disney movie of 2018
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