Disney princesses bring joy and inspiration to children and families worldwide. The first princess, Snow White, debuted in 1937, with the most recent princess, Raya, introduced in 2021.
Raya, the thirteenth and latest addition to the franchise, is a warrior princess determined to find the last dragon in the imagined world of Kumandra. She is seen in “Raya and the Last Dragon,” which premiered four years ago and secured Raya’s spot among the other regarded Disney princesses.
However, many fans are left to wonder why there hasn't been a new addition to the Disney princess lineup since 2021.
Fans adore the Disney Princess franchise, and it is a key financial component of Walt Disney’s brand. Originally, Disney princesses were marketed separately, each appearing on merchandise and games that strictly highlighted their movie and story. But in 2000, the company decided to create the princesses into a franchise, marketing them all together.
Since then, original and new princesses can be seen together in the same lineup and coexist on merchandise, toys and in games. The brand has been extremely successful for Walt Disney and is now valued at $46 billion.
Twenty-five years after the brand’s creation, princesses are still taking the world by storm. Disney princesses are still popular today and continue to bring in billions for the company each year. Although, the brand has faced controversy and changes as the years have gone on.
After Snow White set the stage for Disney, classic characters such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel and Belle joined her. However, it took Disney 55 years after the introduction of princesses to create a princess that was not white. Jasmine joined the cast as the first non-white princess in 1992 with the release of “Aladdin.”
Jasmine’s arrival meant room for more diversity among the princesses with “Pocahontas” in 1995 and “Mulan” joining the list in 1998. However, “Pocahontas” continues to face backlash for cultural appropriation and romanticization of Pocahontas’ actual story.
Disney later added Tiana, Merida, Moana and Raya to the list, rounding out the princess pantheon. The official list of Disney princesses has been debated among super fans for not including other characters such as Meg from “Hercules,” Wendy from “Peter Pan” and Anna and Elsa from “Frozen” in the list.
Disney has never released an official list of requirements to become a princess, but the company did change the lineup of characters over the years as new additions were created. Disney even removed princesses such as Tinkerbell, Esmeralda and Jane Porter from the list for unknown reasons, but there have been no removals since these three in 2005.
The rest of the princesses continue to be adored and successful for the company. However, in recent years, Disney has strayed away from the success of the princess brand and instead is focusing on sequels and live action creations.
Almost all of the original princess animated movies have been recreated into live action films, with the most recent being “Snow White” (2025). The live-action film stars Rachel Zegler and has faced backlash from fans and poor turnout in the box office. The recreation of Disney’s first princess cost $370 million to produce and has only made $66.8 million so far.
Although some live-action remakes such as “Cinderella” starring Lily James and “Beauty and the Beast” with Emma Watson performed well for Disney, most live-action creations of the princesses have missed the mark for the company.
Disney has yet to announce any new characters to join the princess franchise and instead is releasing a new movie addition to the princess franchise: the live-action “Moana” will premiere July 10, 2026.
Instead of a new princess, Disney continues to create live-action films or sequels of other cherished stories such as “Zootopia 2” in November 2025 and “Toy Story 5” in 2026. This decision seems to be made because of the impact nostalgia has had on the media over the last couple of years.
Disney uses nostalgia as a tactic to generate more attention from fans and with it means a slim chance for a new princess to join the lineup, at least not anytime soon.
Some fans think a fresh story is definitely needed for the brand in order to increase viewership and improve poor ratings that have encapsulated live-action remakes. Though, fans will have to wait and see if another princess will join the 13 other royals.
