And here we are again, about to open the first window on our Advent calendars, and trying to tick off the last few items on our 2023 To Do list. When you’re ready for some well-deserved downtime in December, Disney+ has a wide variety of new series, movies, and special seasonal offerings for your entertainment.
The Shepherd (Short Film)
The beloved 1975 novella and Christmas fable from author Frederick Forsyth comes to the screen for the first time courtesy of filmmakers Iain Softley and Alfonso Cuarón. On Christmas Eve, a young Royal Air Force pilot flying home across the North Sea finds himself in peril when his radio and electric power cut out, leaving him stranded and running on limited fuel. Just when it appears his luck is about to run out, a mysterious good Samaritan appears. Starring Ben Radcliffe, Steven Mackintosh and John Travolta.
Watch The Shepherd from 1 December.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Film)
As of 15 December, you’ll be able to watch the final Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on the small screen. Harrison Ford returns to the role of the iconic archaeologist one last time, for a rip-roaring, globe-trotting adventure centred on a legendary artefact that has the ability to change time. Also starring are Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas and John Rhys-Davies. Read our review.
You can also catch the entire Indiana Jones film collection on Disney+, plus hard-to-find series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
As a sidenote, talking of high-profile films, the latest all-star Hercule Poirot murder mystery A Haunting in Venice is now on Disney+ as well, having joined the South African version of the streaming service in late November with little fanfare.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Series)
You’ve read Rick Riordan’s books, and watched the hit movies. Now prepare for the TV series. In Percy Jackson and the Olympians, twelve-year-old demigod Percy Jackson is just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must embark on a dangerous quest to find it and restore order to Olympus.
Walker Scobell stars as Percy Jackson, alongside Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth Chase, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is also notable for containing Lance Reddick’s final TV appearance, as he plays Zeus here.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians kicks off on 20 December with a 2-episode premiere, followed by weekly episode drops. The first season consists of 8 episodes.
What If…? (Anthology Series)
A special festive season treat, award-winning Marvel Cinematic Universe animated series What If…? returns with daily episode drops from 22 December, for 9 days.
If you’re unfamiliar with What If…?, the anthology series questions, revisits and twists classic MCU moments with a voice cast that includes many of the stars who played the same characters in live-action. With The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) looking on, this season in the multiverse features fan-favourite characters like Nebula, Hela and Happy Hogan as you’ve never seen them before.