Image via Disney
Whether you’re a Marvel fan, a Kingdom Hearts enthusiast, or a general Disney adult, the D23 Fan Expo is kind of a big deal. This massive Disney convention is packed with panels and announcements, and 2026 was no exception. We got new Kingdom Hearts 4 intel and several cast reveals for the upcoming MCU X-Men reboot. What I didn’t expect, though, was that D23 would bring us… book news? Admittedly, Disney has always had a publishing arm, but I confess I haven’t paid it too much attention in recent years. But their latest announcement has certainly caught my attention.
During D23, Disney revealed that it will be leaning into the Romantasy trend with a new Webtoon and book series. It’s called “Disney Cursed Love,” and it will offer up new, Romantasy-infused spins on classic Disney stories. In some ways, this feels like a natural expansion of Disney’s publishing arm, which has been putting out “Twisted Tales” that reimagine Disney stories since 2015. That series is still ongoing, but apparently, it’s time for another way of revisiting Disney stories in book form. But this time, it’s Romantasy. Read: for adults, probably in some major ways.
Disney Is Releasing A New Romantasy Series Inspired By Its “Iconic Love Stories”
First, let’s cover the basics in case you missed it. The new Disney Cursed Love series will first be released on Webtoon, with print versions to come in 2027. The lineup begins with a story inspired by The Beauty and the Beast, with Belle and the Beast making appearances alongside the story’s new protagonists. It’s called The Curse of a Forsaken Heart, and comes from author Emily McIntire and artist Samairu. McIntire has already shown her chops writing reimagined, darker stories inspired by many classic fairy tales and familiar Disney stories, notably the Never After Series. As far as choices go, this feels like a natural fit in many ways. But McIntire is very much an adult author, and Romantasy is often a very adult genre. That’s where things get interesting.
I’ve had my eye on the Twisted Tales series for years, but I confess have yet to actually read one of them. The concept of reimagining classic Disney stories with one big twist, though, is a fun one. And the books are targeted towards a YA audience, which fits in nicely as kids who grew up on Disney films age into reading slightly more mature books. Emphasis on slightly. Romantasy, however, occupies a bit of a different space in the book world. And therein lie my mixed feelings on this announcement. The books sound great, but they also sound like they’re very much putting a grown-up spin on characters that are often aimed at kids.
Disney Adults exist, of course. I will be throwing no shade here, because I’m all for keeping whimsy alive. And frankly, saying you can’t still love Disney as an adult while being watched by no fewer than 3 Pokemon plushies and 4 Funko Pops would be hypocritical. Disney definitely has an adult audience out there, and there’s no denying adult readers are loving a good Romantasy right now. Heck, I know I do. And yet… movies like Beauty and the Beast are, very much, still aimed at younger audiences. The Disney Cursed Love series, however, sounds like it’s going to be… spicy?
Just How Adult Are These New Disney Romantasies Going To Be, Exactly?
Specifically, the series has been described as featuring “seductive, action-packed romantasy adventure, entangled in dark magic, terrible curses and epic romance.” That sounds like a great time, don’t get me wrong. But it feels like it could muddy the waters a bit where younger readers are concerned. The word “seductive” here and the sheer amount of spice that tends to feature in Romantasy give me pause. These books are clearly intended for an adult audience, and I think those readers are going to get something great out of this. But it does feel a bit outside what I would expect to see from a Disney book series that draws heavily from its kid-facing repertoire of animated films.
Hopefully, so long as the marketing is very clear and the books are appropriately shelved, kids and parents will know what they’re getting into when this spicy Beauty and the Beast-adjacent story hits shelves in print form in 2027. I’m still processing the news and its full implications in a market where the lines between adult and young adult reading keep on getting blurred. That said, The Curse of a Forsaken Heart sounds like a great story, and I just might pick this one up when it arrives next year. I just won’t be sharing it with my niece until she’s much, much older.
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