If there's one thing Disney knows how to do, it's show it off.
Walt Disney Studios’ various divisions — including Disney Animation, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios — shared the spotlight at Anaheim’s Honda Center on Friday for a three-hour presentation designed to promote each of their upcoming films and television series. One of the highlights of this year’s D23 Expo, the Disney Entertainment Showcase wowed its audience with trailers, sneak peeks, concept art, musical performances, pyrotechnics and even an interactive magic trick.
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger, who noted it was his first D23 Expo in five years, received a rock-star welcome when he took the stage to kick off the evening.
“I was going to say good night and thank you for that warm welcome, but that was more than a warm welcome,” Iger told the Disney faithful who greeted him with enthusiastic cheers and a standing ovation.
Among the filmmakers and actors chosen to preview their upcoming projects were “Avatar’s” James Cameron, “Moana 2’s” Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, “Andor’s” Diego Luna, “Ironheart’s” Ryan Coogler, “Freaky Friday” duo Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan and “Tron’s” Jeff Bridges.
Below are the key takeaways from Disney Studios' presentation.
Disney continues to dig into its vault
James Cameron, left, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana onstage at the D23 Expo to promote “Avatar 3.”
(The Walt Disney Company)
Sequels, trilogies and spin-offs seem to be the name of Disney's current game.
The show opened with Cravalho performing “We're Back,” a song from the upcoming “Moana 2,” which reunites the film's eponymous hero with the demigod Maui for a new adventure. The Disney Animation portion of the presentation also included Ginnifer Goodwin teasing “Zootopia 2” and the studio's chief creative officer Jennifer Lee sharing news about “Frozen III” (and “IV”).
Pixar’s Pete Docter announced that the studio is working on “Incredibles 3” with Brad Bird. Also in the works is “Toy Story 5,” directed by Andrew Stanton, and “Dream Production,” a spin-off series from “Inside Out” that will be coming to Disney+.
As for live-action films (and the like), “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Tron: Ares,” both third films in their respective series, are in the works, as is “Freakier Friday,” a sequel to the 2003 cult film. Not to mention live-action adaptations of “Snow White” and “Lilo & Stitch.”
With the recent success of “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool and Wolverine” ($1.56 billion and $925 million, respectively), it would seem that betting on sequels and franchises is a safe bet. But perhaps they shouldn’t forget that not all of their recent sequels and reboots have been so successful.
Star Wars generates excitement for its films
Dave Filoni, left, and Jon Favreau at the Disney Entertainment Showcase to promote “The Mandalorian & Grogu.”
(Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
“Star Wars” has had success on television with shows like “The Mandalorian” and “Andor,” but the galaxy far, far away is ready to return to the big screen.
Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni made an appearance to tease their upcoming film “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” currently in production, in which Baby Yoda will make his big-screen debut. Early images included glimpses of Zeb (another character who first appeared in “Star Wars Rebels”), snowtroopers, AT-AT walkers and a group of Anzellans (the species of the little mechanic Babu Frik).
While “Mando & Grogu” was the only film to take the stage at the D23 Expo, several other “Star Wars” films were announced to be in development in recent years, including an untitled film starring Daisy Ridley and another untitled film directed by Filoni.
The last “Star Wars” movie to hit theaters was 2019’s “Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker,” a pandemic and a presidency ago. Are Baby Yoda and his TV sidekicks the new hope for another era of “Star Wars” movies? Here’s how.
Marvel Studios has not forgotten about television
Ali Ahn, left, Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza and Sasheer Zamata perform a song from “Agatha All Along” at the Disney Entertainment Showcase.
(Araya Doheny/Getty Images for Disney)
Marvel's presentation at San Diego Comic-Con Hall H in July focused on its movies. At D23 Expo, it focused on its TV shows.
The highly anticipated “Ironheart” has returned to the spotlight with Coogler and the show’s cast members, including Dominique Thorne and Anthony Ramos. Expected to arrive on Disney+ in 2025, the series will follow Riri Williams as she resorts to desperate measures to finish making her own high-tech supersuit.
Kathryn Hahn and her “Agatha All Along” co-stars Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn and Debra Jo Rupp took the stage to perform “The Ballad of the Witches Road.” The series, ostensibly a musical, will debut on Disney+ on Sept. 18.
The cast of “Daredevil: Born Again” was also on hand to tease their upcoming show, which is set to drop in March. The most recent new Marvel series to launch was “Echo,” which hit Disney+ in January (under the studios’ new Marvel Spotlight banner), and also featured familiar faces from “Daredevil.” But it looks like after a long absence, Marvel Studios is ready to return to a more regular cadence on television.
The footprint of the original films is small, but it is still there.
Pete Docter shares details about Pixar’s upcoming film “Hoppers” at D23 Expo.
(The Walt Disney Company)
Disney's showcase relied heavily on well-known series and film franchises, but there were a couple of original films that caught the eye.
Pixar showed footage from its upcoming film “Elio,” about an imaginative boy who gets caught up in intergalactic adventures, and also announced “Hoppers,” about a young animal lover who decides to transfer his consciousness into a robotic beaver. (The studio also has its first original series coming soon, “Win or Lose,” premiering Dec. 6.)
Disney Animation's Lee also mentioned that the studio is working on a new original film, but did not provide additional details.
The D23 Expo is a fan event, so it makes sense to lean on familiar characters and worlds to generate buzz (and Disney built its empire on adaptations of existing fairy tales), but you can't create new franchises without new ideas and room to grow.
