Walt Disney Studios' presentation at CinemaCon 2026 was packed with huge reveals, announcements, and trailers for its upcoming slate of movies. On the animation side, Walt Disney Animation Studios' briefly spoke about its upcoming magical comedy adventure Hexed.
First announced last year at the D23 fan expo, Hexed was originally introduced as a story about an oddball teenager and his mom who discover that his quirkiness is actually the result of his magical heritage.
Disney Animation's original description teased Hexed as "an all-new original film that follows an awkward teenage boy and his Type - A mom, who discover that what makes him unusual, might just be magical powers that will turn their lives and a secret world of magic, upside down."
Here's the original announcement from last year.
It appears that at some point between November of last year and CinemaCon, that story has undergone a bit of a change with its characters. While the core concept remains the same, it looks like Hexed will now be about an unconventional teenage girl and her mom, at least based on the new casting announcement and description.
During CinemaCon it was confirmed that Hexed will star Hailee Steinfeld and Rashida Jones. Steinfeld will voice the role of Billie, "an unconventional teenager from a boring town who accidentally discovers that she’s a witch and finds herself whisked away to a world of magic." Jones will voice her type-A mom, Alice, who also finds her world turned upside down.
Again, the core idea is the same, but the overall premise seems to have shifted from a story about a teenage boy and his mom to one about a teenage girl and her mom. It's unclear why Disney flipped the script a bit with this one, though it's possible they saw the box office results of Elio, another story about a young boy and an adult female figure, and decided to go the mother-daughter route, which is more of a tried and true formula for Disney.
Disney also shared a sneak peek teaser of Hexed, which has not been released on line. However, IGN offered a brief write-up on what they saw:
...a clip that began with Billie being flung down the stairs into a cavern. She finds an ancient looking book that's closed by straps, and she sneezes from the dust on it. She is startled when someone says, "bless you," and she discovers is was actually the book talking. There's also a pen and ink that speak to her in a way that reminded us of The Beauty and the Beast.
The pen then says, "answer these questions and we'll see if Hex is for you!" They ask her questions like if she's ever been burnt at the stake, and they tell her to sign the book.
"Go on, Love... DIP ME!" the pen says, encouraging her to dip her in the ink and write. Billie is then told that she is officially welcomed into Hex, a world of magic and wonder that is revealed by a wall opening and a whole other world waiting for them on the other side.
Despite the change, Hexed still sounds like an intriguing premise. The film is due out in theaters on November 25, 2026.