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The Big Picture
- The D23 Expo dazzled fans with previews of Disney’s upcoming movies and shows, promising a year filled with excitement and entertainment.
- From
Moana 2
to
Avatar: Fire and Ash
, Disney showcased a wide range of content, promising new adventures, characters, and storylines to come. - Exciting announcements like
Incredibles 3, Zootopia 2
, and
Ironheart
left fans eagerly anticipating the future of Disney entertainment.
The D23 Expo is back in style, and The Walt Disney Company showed off just about everything for its star-studded Disney Entertainment Showcase. Held for the first time ever in the massive Honda Center and hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, Disney offered just a taste of what’s to come in the next year and beyond. Be it the vibrant worlds of Disney Animation, the superhero spectacle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the sensational splendor of the Star Wars galaxy, there was something for everyone in this extensive two-hour showcase.
Disney’s most anticipated upcoming movies and shows had a place at the massive celebration. This includes the beautiful aquatic world of Moana 2, the long-awaited gritty revival of Daredevil: Born Again, the tonally unique Disney+ adventure of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and so much more. That’s only scratching the surface of what was shown on D23’s biggest night, and we’ll tell you about everything we learned at the Disney Entertainment Showcase at the 2024 D23 Expo right here.
‘Moana 2’
After a brief speech from Disney CEO Bob Iger, the showcase kicked things off with Moana 2. The stars of the upcoming sequel, Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson appeared to begin the festivities with a live performance, showing their huge enthusiasm for the new project. Cravalho shared some new details about what Moana has been up to, stating she is now the leader of her people and is even a big sister to a young three-year-old girl. Johnson also confirmed he’ll be putting his music chops to the test again with some more singing.
Finally, Cravalho and Johnson introduced a brand-new trailer to the masses. The new footage introduces Moana’s new sister, her big reunion with her and Maui, and the tease of an all-new and much more sinister villain. Also seen is the return of Gramma Talla.
‘Monster Jam’
After hyping up Moana 2, Dwayne Johnson had a big surprise. He is now going to be attached to a Monster Jam movie, bringing the monster truck mayhem of the titular event to the big screen. It wasn’t entirely clear if this would be a documentary or a special feature film, but it seems to be something Johnson is incredibly happy about.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’
Keeping the momentum going was James Cameron, who came on stage with Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington to discuss the next installment of the record-holding Avatar franchise. Now titled Avatar: Fire and Ash, Cameron hasn’t shared any new footage just yet, but he did share some exciting new concept art to set up the riveting next installment. Cameron also teased some of the new things we can expect to see, including a new story, some new environments, and a tease for a new character that the Oscar-winning filmmaker says audiences will “love to hate”.
‘Dream Productions’
Following the stellar success of Inside Out 2, Pixar is bringing audiences back to Riley’s Mind for the Disney+ spin-off series, Dream Productions. Set in between the events of the first two films, the new show will be a mockumentary style adventure that follows the movie studio that creates Riley’s dreams.
‘Win or Lose’
Before Dream Productions hits Disney+, Pixar will be debuting their first-ever Disney+ original series, Win or Lose. The new anthology show will follow the members of a youth baseball team deal with their own array of problems in their own unique ways, and Pixar unveiled the first trailer for the series at the showcase.
‘Toy Story 5’
For the first film of the night they were discussing, Pixar came in with a doozy for Toy Story 5. The fifth installment of the long-running franchise will see the toys face their biggest rival yet – Technology. In an age of electronics and cellphones, this is bound to be the most topical and emotional adventure yet. We also learned that the toys will face a legion of Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) toys that are stuck in their factory setting “toy mode”.
‘Hoppers’
A brand-new film from Pixar, Hoppers tells the surreal story of a young teen who has their consciousness transported into…a beaver…of all things. Not much is known about the plot other than that, but Pete Docter did share that Bobby Moynihan and Jon Hamm will be a part of the cast.
‘Elio’
Pixar’s next major feature film is a brand-new original film titled Elio. The new sci-fi story follows a young boy who is mistaken as the leader of Earth. He becomes an unwitting amabassador for a massive society of extra-terrestrials, and the fate of his world may hang in the balance. Zoe Saldanna has also joined the cast as the titular character’s aunt.
‘Incredibles 3’
Before saying goodbye, Pete Docter shared one more surprise – Incredibles 3 is in the works. It’s early days for the next chapter in the superhero story, but director Brad Bird is confirmed to be returning.
‘Zootopia 2’
Get ready to return to the vibrant animal city of Zootopia in Zootopia 2. The upcoming sequel is set to bring reptiles to the diverse world of Zootopia, with the first of likely many character being Gary the Snake, voiced by Ke Huy Quan. The footage also sees Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and Judy Hops (Ginnifer Goodwin) visiting the semi-aquatic land of the Marsh Market.
‘Frozen III’
Following Zootopia 2, Jennifer Lee took to the stage to talk Frozen III, which will be the first chapter of a two-part story. That’s right, a fourth film is already on the way. For Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa’s (Idina Menzel) next adventure, they’ll be venturing off into a new far-off land. While Lee didn’t share too much about the new Frozen film, she did share some concept art that depicts Anna and Elsa riding towards a castle in the clouds.
‘Frozen: The Musical’
That’s not the only treat Frozen fans were treated to, either. The musical that hit Broadway back in 2018 is getting the Hamilton treatment, as the staged version was filmed and will premiere on Disney+ in 2025. Showcase attendees were treated to none other than a performance of “Let It Go” complete with lots and lots of blue confetti.
‘Hercules: The Musical’
After the success of stage shows based on animated films like Frozen and The Lion King (which also made an appearance at the showcase), it makes sense that Disney would want to keep this formula going. The next film to get the staged musical treatment is Hercules, heading to London’s West End next summer. We got a first look (and listen!) of the show as part of the Broadway medley Disney put on, and don’t fear: certified banger “Go the Distance” was prominently featured.
‘The Greatest Showman: The Musical’
But Disney’s not stopping at adapting their animated films —The Greatest Showman stage show is also currently in development. Showcase attendees were treated to an electrifying live performance of “The Greatest Show” as the announcement was made on the screens behind the performers.
‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’
The next Star Wars live-action series, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, debuted its first new teaser trailer ahead of its December 2024 debut. One of the few things from the show that released publicly online, the new Goonies-inspired series begins with a very un-Star Wars suburban town. That all changes when the shows main cast of kid protagonists stumble upon a lost Jedi Temple, which makes them targets for the galaaxy’s most dastardly villains. They meet a Force user played by Jude Law, but whether he is a friend or foe remains to be seen.
‘Andor’ Season 2
One of the most anticipated new chapters in Star Wars television has to be Andor Season 2. The second-half of the critically acclaimed thriller has been gestating for quite a while, and Diego Luna took to the stage to give fans a behind-the-scenes look of whats to come. The footage revealed the return of several characters from Season 1, as well as the welcome arrival of some Rogue One: A Star Wars Story favorites like Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) and K-2SO (Alan Tudyk).
‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’
Finally, the Star Wars section of the night ended with a bang with the world premiere footage of The Mandalorian & Grogu. For the first time ever, Mando (Pedro Pascal) and his little green friend will be coming to the big-screen, and the action-packed footage really shows it. The sizzle reel features Mando fighting off Snowtroopers, the return of Star Wars: Rebels fan-favorite Zeb (Steve Blum), and Mando and Grogu riding an AT-RT on a snowy planet.
‘Captain America: Brave New World’
Anthony Mackie briefly took the stage to talk about Captain America: Brave New World before the footage first shown at San Diego Comic-Con was shared once again. (For a more in-depth breakdown of the footage, check out our Marvel Hall H panel Comic-Con breakdown.)
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’
The Fantastic Four: First Steps also shared footage that was originally at SDCC (which you can read more about in our Hall H article, too!), but fans were also treated to a video Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn (who was wearing a fancy vintage uniform and sporting blonde hair now) on set. Though they only recently began shooting, we were told that the aforementioned video had to be edited down, as they’ve already gotten so close and familial that they couldn’t stop making each other laugh. Aww.
‘Ironheart’
Ironheart producer Ryan Coogler stepped out with the cast consisting of Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos, Lyric Ross, Regan Aliyah, and Alden Ehrenreich to show an exclusive first look at the show — and what a satisfying peek it was. We start off seeing Riri fly around in her new suit, but it quickly becomes clear she’s not soaring in all areas of her life. She admits to feeling stuck and is eventually expelled from MIT for ditching classes and draining the college’s resources. To get the cash she needs to continue funding her projects, she takes on some less-than-legal work, teaming up with The Hood and joining his group. Uh-oh!
‘Daredevil: Born Again’
One of Marvel’s most anticipated shows, Daredevil: Born Again also got some exciting updates. Cast members Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, Deborah Ann Woll, and Elden Henson introduced an exclusive trailer that shows Matt Murdock visiting White Tiger in prison. White Tiger tells him that somebody has to protect the streets, as people are going missing and no one seems to care. We see the Punisher confronting Matt, as well as a meeting between Matt and Kingpin at a diner, where Fisk questions whether Matt himself or his “darker half” is threatening to stop him if he steps out of line. Kingpin also states that “chaos must reign,” and that’s exactly what it seems to be doing throughout the rest of the violent, gritty trailer packed with quick action sequences and a surprise Yusuf Khan appearance. “What kind of lawyer are you?” Khan asks. “A really good one,” Matt replies. Oh, and Marvel is so confident that they already renewed the show for Season 2, which starts filming soon.
‘Agatha: All Along’
Agatha All Along started off with a bang by showing a brand-new trailer, where Agatha is determined to “get back on top” after Wanda took “every little bit of power” she had. In order to do that, she attempts to assemble her coven. We get a closer look at Rio, who is seen creepily crawling out of the ground at one point, as well as some Wizard of Oz homages and a more vulnerable seeming side of Agatha as she talks to Joe Locke‘s mysterious teen about an awful truth she’s trying to keep secret. Stars Kathryn Hahn, Locke, Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and Debra Jo Rupp all need to start a band because they then took to the stage to perform a new song from the show, “The Ballad of the Witches Road,” which was haunting, beautiful, spooky fun. (And the witch-cackling they all did after the performance was over was a true treat as well.)
‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Season 2
Rick Riordan and stars Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri promised that “Percabeth” fans were in for a treat with the new season. A short new tease was shown where Percy gets to ride in the chariot race and ominously claims that stopping the war was just the beginning. Season 2 will be based off The Sea of Monsters.
‘Descendants: The Rise of Red’
Rita Ora introduced a medley performance of songs from the latest installment before it was announced that stars Kylie Cantrall, Malia Baker, Dara Reneé, and Ruby Rose Turner would be going on tour with Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires stars Freya Skye and Malachi Barton on the Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour next summer. Tickets will go on sale this November.
‘David Blaine: Do Not Attempt’
A trailer for David Blaine: Do Not Attempt was shown that included bugs and fire galore. Blaine says he’s on a quest to find people with incredible talents and things that “look like magic but are actually real.” Showcase attendees were also treated to Blaine doing a wild card trick that left everyone in the Honda Center completely stunned.
‘Freaky Friday 2’
We can’t just, like, chill for a sec because the Freaky Friday sequel is coming, and it will be appropriately titled Freakier Friday. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan shared their excitement — as well as the news that Chad Michael Murray and iconic fictional band Pink Slip will be back.
‘Lilo & Stitch’ Live-Action
The showcase ended with a trio of live-action remakes, the first being Lilo & Stitch. True to the chaotic blue alien’s character, Stitch (Chris Sanders) can be seen messing with the D23 presentation. We finally get to see what the live-action CGI version of the beloved character looks like, and the film will be officially debuting in Summer 2025.
‘Snow White’ Live-Action
Fans were also treated to an extended look at the upcoming remake of Disney’s first-ever animated movie, Snow White. The first trailer was released publicly online, but those in attendance also got to see a clip of Snow White (Rachel Zegler) singing “Whistle While You Work” with the Seven Dwarves.
‘Tron: Ares’
There’s one more live-action remake to go, but before that, Disney took some time to talk about Tron: Ares. The third film in the Tron saga, the new film is taking a fundamentally different approach to Tron, and with some footage to prove it. It appears that Tron: Ares may be primarily taking place in the real world rather than the grid, with the titular character of Ares (Jared Leto) learning about a place that is far different from the one he calls home. It was also annoucned that Nine Inch Nails would be composing the score for Tron: Ares.
‘Mufasa: The Lion King’
Last but not least, Disney closed out the showcase with Mufasa: The Lion King. Again, you can watch the full trailer for yourself online, but those in attendance were treated to an extended look at one of the brand-new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The new prequel flips the script on what we thought we knew about the titular Lion King, showcasing how to lion cubs went from strangers, to brothers, to enemies.
Stay tuned to Collider for more from D23 2024.
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