August is looking like a bumper month for Disney+ subscribers: the already-massive catalogue that makes Disney+ one of the very best streaming services is getting some fun new additions. While I probably won't be tuning in to Welcome To Wrexham, a documentary about Ryan Reynolds (who I love) and football (which I don't), there's lots of must-watch stuff coming to the streamer this month.
Lightyear (3 August)
It's been a while since I had a Toy Story movie to bawl along to, and this spin-off will do nicely until the next heart-shredding Pixar production. Lightyear isn't a Toy Story film; it's a film about the fictional character the Toy Story character was modelled on. That means it's more of a Star Wars swashbuckler, a cowboys-in-space romp featuring the voices of Chris Evans, Keke Palmer and Take Waititi.
Prey (5th August)
The advance buzz on this Predator movie has been really positive, and I'm hoping reports that Prey returns the SF franchise to its action-horror roots are correct. It's set 300 years in the past among the indigenous people of North America and focuses on Naru, a skilled warrior who has to battle a you-know-what. It's directed by Dan Trachenberg, whose track record includes the brilliant The Boys, Black Mirror and 10 Cloverfield Lane, and Naru is played by Amber Midthunder of the Fort Peck Sioux tribe. Although the film has been recorded in English, it'll also make history as the first English-language film to also be dubbed in Comanche.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (17 August)
Tatiana Maslany is a lawyer, and also She-Hulk. That's all you need to know to be excited about this – and if I also tell you that Tim Roth, Mark Ruffalo and Charlie Cox all play legendary superheroes too in this self-aware tale of Bruce Banner's cousin accidentally becoming a big green rage monster, you'll be even more excited.
Welcome to Wrexham (25 August)
Ryan Reynolds' self-deprecating humour isn't enough to tempt me to watch a documentary about football, but early word on this show is that it's an interesting and likeable show about the superstar's purchase – with Rob McElhenney of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia – of Wrexham FC in 2020. The series will provide exclusive access to changing room drama, training and management issues, as well as Reynolds' and McElhenney's introduction to the culture around one of football's oldest teams.
Andor (31 August)
Let me take a deep breath: Andor is a prequel to Rogue One which was a prequel to A New Hope which was the first Star Wars film but then became the fourth Star Wars film because reasons. As you've probably guessed, I'm not mired in Star Wars lore. But I do know that a cast featuring Diego Luna, Stellan Skarsgård and Forest Whitaker is going to be worth watching, and the story – in which Luna plays Cassian Andor, a thief in the early years of the Galactic Empire's evil reign – is likely to be action-packed and hugely entertaining. The first of 12 episodes start streaming on 31 August.
