Best Disney+ NZ Shows & Movies in 2026: Wonder Man, Daredevil & The Bear

If your Disney+ NZ subscription has been quietly auto-renewing while you binge old episodes of The Mandalorian, 2026 is the year to actually look at the schedule. The first nine months bring a Marvel reset, a long-rumoured Handmaid’s Tale sequel, the return of the bare-knuckle Victorian crime hit A Thousand Blows, and a Star Wars animated series finally giving Maul a leading role. For Kiwi viewers paying NZ$13.99 a month, the next twelve months arguably deliver more new flagship content than 2024 and 2025 put together.

Disney+ in New Zealand bundles the global Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, National Geographic and Star catalogues into one app, and unlike the United States there’s no separate Hulu split — FX dramas like The Bear and the new Alien: Earth sit on Disney+ NZ alongside everything else. That means most of the 2026 lineup lands here on the same date, or close to it, as the US release. Below is the full month-by-month watch order, what each title is actually about, and where to fit it into a New Zealand winter.

2026 Disney+ NZ Release Calendar (At a Glance)

Dates reflect global Disney+ schedules confirmed through April 2026. NZ availability is generally same-day or +1 day for series; movie windows may vary.

Marquee Returns: Marvel, Star Wars & The Bear

Daredevil: Born Again (March 4, 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1MqJBVn8Rk

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1MqJBVn8Rk]]

Charlie Cox is back as Matt Murdock and the show retains the bruising tone of the 2015 Netflix run. Born Again picks up after the Netflix finale with Murdock rebuilding his practice while Wilson Fisk re-emerges — this time as Mayor of New York. Vincent D’Onofrio returns. The opening run leans into courtroom intrigue more than capes, which has gone over well with Kiwi reviewers who found the original Daredevil to be the most adult Marvel show outside of Jessica Jones.

Wonder Man (January 27, 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT1ng2tiwLA

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT1ng2tiwLA]]

The MCU’s lowest-stakes 2026 release is also the most charming on paper. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Simon Williams, a struggling Hollywood actor turned reluctant superhero. The marketing has emphasised the comedy — think BoJack Horseman meets Ms. Marvel — and Ben Kingsley reprises his Trevor Slattery role as Simon’s acting coach. A solid pick for an Auckland Sunday afternoon.

Andor Season 2 (April 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duN-KQgOjYs

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duN-KQgOjYs]]

The first season of Andor is widely treated as the best Star Wars television to date, even by people who don’t normally rate the franchise. Season 2 covers the four years between Cassian’s recruitment and the events of Rogue One, with each three-episode arc representing a year. Tony Gilroy is wrapping the story here, so this is the final destination for one of the rare prestige sci-fi shows New Zealand audiences have rallied around.

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord (April 6, 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43R9l7EkJwE

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43R9l7EkJwE]]

Sam Witwer voices Darth Maul in this animated series picking up after his appearances in The Clone Wars and Solo. Set during the rise of the Empire, the series follows Maul building a criminal empire in the Outer Rim. Animated Star Wars has historically had a quietly dedicated NZ following thanks to weekend morning broadcast on Three back in the day — this is the next chapter for those viewers.

Alien: Earth (August 12, 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgoxHC7WF9w

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgoxHC7WF9w]]

Noah Hawley’s Earth-bound Alien prequel finally arrives. Set two years before Ridley Scott’s 1979 original, the show drops xenomorphs into a near-future Earth dominated by mega-corporations — not a million miles from Hawley’s Fargo tonal palette. Sydney Chandler leads the cast. Reviews from the international press point to it being the most confident new sci-fi horror swing on streaming since Severance.

Predator: Badlands (November 7, 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0FBRcf40FM

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0FBRcf40FM]]

Dan Trachtenberg follows up his lean, well-reviewed Prey with a film that flips the formula: the protagonist is a young Predator, exiled from his clan, hunting on a planet of monsters that outclass him. Filmed partly in New Zealand and Australia, Badlands is the first Predator film to put a Yautja front and centre. The Trachtenberg track record makes this one of the stronger genre bets on the calendar.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S2 (February 2026)

Walker Scobell returns for the Sea of Monsters adaptation. Season 1 underdelivered against book-fan expectations; the producers have publicly acknowledged the criticism and said S2 leans more confidently into the action and humour of the source. Useful family-watch territory if you’ve got under-12s in the house.

New 2026 Premieres You Might Have Missed

The Testaments (April 8, 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uud0aiP-MFw

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uud0aiP-MFw]]

Margaret Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale finally gets its screen adaptation, picking up 15 years after the close of the original series. Ann Dowd returns as Aunt Lydia. For New Zealand audiences who followed the original on Lightbox and then Disney+, this is the long-promised resolution — and it’s arriving with strong early notices.

Paradise Season 2 (February 23, 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkVepshZhGc

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkVepshZhGc]]

Dan Fogelman’s twisty post-apocalyptic thriller (yes, the This Is Us creator) returns. Sterling K. Brown’s Secret Service agent has now left the underground bunker city, and the second season explores what’s actually left of the surface world. Kept its sub-plot lid pretty tight in marketing, which is half the appeal.

The Bear Season 5 (June 2026, anticipated)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpWyxrPqkeA

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpWyxrPqkeA]]

FX has signalled this is the last season of Christopher Storer’s Chicago restaurant drama. Disney+ NZ has carried every season day-and-date with the US Hulu release, so expect Season 5 here in June or early July. If you missed Seasons 1-4, they’re a strong winter binge in their own right.

A Thousand Blows Season 2 (January 9, 2026)

Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders, SAS Rogue Heroes) is back in late-Victorian London for round two of the bare-knuckle boxing drama. The first season landed quietly on Disney+ NZ but built a cult following on the back of its fight choreography. Series two doubles down on the criminal underworld arc.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair (April 10, 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-kSWdet1BE

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-kSWdet1BE]]

A four-episode reunion event, set 25 years after the finale, with Bryan Cranston, Frankie Muniz and Jane Kaczmarek all returning. Pitched as a one-off rather than an ongoing revival. Aims squarely at the millennials who watched the original on TV2 in the late 90s and early 2000s.

The Punisher: One Last Kill (May 12, 2026)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSeqs_xeqv4

[[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSeqs_xeqv4]]

Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle gets a 90-minute special bridging his appearances in Daredevil: Born Again. The runtime keeps it disciplined, the rating reportedly pushes Marvel’s usual TV-14 ceiling, and Bernthal remains the gold-standard live-action Punisher.

The Mandalorian & Grogu (May 2026, theatrical)

The first Star Wars cinema release since The Rise of Skywalker. Pedro Pascal and Grogu hit the big screen with Jon Favreau directing. Disney+ streaming arrival in NZ likely follows in late 2026. Worth seeing in IMAX if your local cinema does it justice.

Bluey Minisodes (May 20, 2026)

Ten brand-new shorts from the Heeler family. Bluey is a juggernaut in NZ households and these run roughly 3-5 minutes each — ideal car-trip-length viewing for the under-7s crowd while you wait for the much-debated Bluey movie due in 2027.

Moana 2 (Disney+ NZ debut, November 2026)

The cinema run was strong but it’s the streaming debut that brings Moana 2 into rotation for kiwi families. Same Polynesian seascape, expanded crew, and notably more ambitious music arrangements than the first.

Disney+ NZ Pricing & How to Save

Disney+ in New Zealand is currently NZ$13.99 per month or NZ$139.99 annual on the Standard plan, with the Premium plan (4K, Dolby Atmos, four concurrent streams) at NZ$17.99 per month. There is currently no ad-supported tier in New Zealand, unlike the US and UK.

• Annual plan — about two months free if you commit. Best value if you watch year-round.
• Spark Disney+ bundle — some Spark broadband plans bundle a Disney+ Standard subscription. Worth checking your bill before paying separately.
• Sky Pod & Sky Sport Now — Disney+ isn’t included in Sky packages, but if you’re consolidating streaming, drop one of the big-three sports/ent services for the months you’re not using them.
• Family sharing — up to seven profiles on Standard, and all 2026 originals are PG-13 or below in NZ except Daredevil, Alien: Earth, The Punisher, Predator: Badlands and The Bear, which sit behind the Star tile’s parental gate.

Disney+ NZ supports offline downloads on iOS and Android (up to 25 titles per device on Standard, more on Premium). Useful for Air New Zealand domestic flights and the Cook Strait ferry.

Our Watch Order for the Rest of 2026

If you only have time for the standouts, here’s what we’d prioritise on Disney+ NZ for the remainder of the year:

1. Andor Season 2 — the best Star Wars thing since The Empire Strikes Back wraps up its story.
2. Daredevil: Born Again — the most fully-realised mature Marvel show since the Netflix era.
3. Alien: Earth — if Hawley sticks the landing, this is the genre series of 2026.
4. The Bear Season 5 — series finale of one of the most-awarded dramas of the last five years.
5. The Testaments — the long-promised Handmaid’s Tale sequel.

For families: Bluey shorts, Percy Jackson S2, Moana 2 and the eventual streaming arrival of Mandalorian & Grogu cover the year comfortably.

Disney+ NZ will keep adding catalogue titles month to month — we’ll update this page each quarter as Disney confirms exact NZ release dates and new pricing tiers (an ad-supported plan is rumoured for later in 2026 but not yet confirmed for New Zealand).