New trailers, new film titles, and surprise celebrity guests wrapped in a Vegas-style, three-hour production was how D23, Disney’s three-day fan event, kicked off at Anaheim’s Honda Center.
Walt Disney Company chief executive officer Bob Iger, who received a standing ovation from fans when he came onstage Friday night, introduced the evening by emphasizing Disney’s creative storytelling and innovation as the key to the company’s enduring success.
“Our deep bond with fans, forged over a century of story telling is stronger today than every before,” he said.
“Avatar” director James Cameron (who flew in from New Zealand) with stars Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington, didn’t reveal any footage but teased the third film in the franchise by showing some new concept art and unveiled the film’s official title — “Avatar: Fire and Ash”.
“You’ll see a lot more Pandora that you never saw before,” Cameron told the audience. “We’re going into really challenging territory for all the characters you know and love.”
No surprise announcements from Lucasfilm, but the coming of age “Skeleton Crew” coming to Disney + on Dec. 3, 2024 shared its first teaser trailer, while Diego Luna joined fans to tease “Andor” Season 2.
Director Jon Favreau and producer Dave Filoni were on hand to offer a spectacular sneak peek of “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the upcoming Star Wars film that hits theaters in 2026. “We are delighted to bring these characters to the big screen,” said Favreau.
Pixar Animation Studios, riding a tailwind of box office success with “Inside Out 2” now being the highest grossing animation of all time topping $US1.5 billion, revealed a calendar packed agenda with an “Inside Out” TV series coming to Disney + in 2025 called “Dream Productions”. The new series will continue into the world of young Riley’s mind, portraying how her dreams are made every night.
While still relying solidly on sequels including newly announced “Toy Story 5”, directed by Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton (“Toy Story 2”, “Finding Nemo”) and confirming “Incredibles 3” was officially in the works, Pixar’s Pete Docter also revealed the launch date of the animation studio’s first original series “Win or Lose” on Disney + Dec 6, 2024. Docter also teased Pixar’s upcoming slate of original features including the cosmic set “Elio,” and coming to theatres in 2026, “Hoppers,” a body-swap story of a girl who transfers her mind to a beaver to learn more about the animal kingdom.
Walt Disney Animation featured the highly anticipated “Zootopia 2”, an onstage musical celebration of “Moana 2” with the voice of Moana, Auliʻi Cravalho, and Dwayne Johnson in attendance, while Disney Animation’s Jennifer Lee shared a bite-size tease and concept art for “Frozen 3” which releases theatrically in 2027.
Marvel Studios Kevin Fiege leaned heavily into their Disney + streaming offers with new footage of “Daredevil: Born Again” with stars Jon Bernthal, Charlie Cox, Vincent D‘Onofrio. Ryan Coogler took the stage to show footage of “Ironheart”, set after the events of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” ready to launch in 2025, and the soon-to-be-released “Agatha All Along” with Agatha Harkness (from “Wandavision”), played by Kathryn Hahn, getting her own starring role leading a coven of witches on a treacherous (and often comic) path.
Anthony Mackie erupted the audience when introduced by Fiege for his upcoming “Captain America: Brave New World” releasing theatrically on Feb. 14th, 2025.
Disney Live Action gets a workout in 2025 with “Mufasa; The Lion King” with Mufasa songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda in his first ever D23 appearance. Also receiving live-action reimagining is “Disney’s Snow White” due in March 2025, starring Rachel Ziegler as the iconic Disney princess, and the much loved “Lilo & Stitch”. Jeff Bridges, Jared Leto, Greta Lee and Evan Peters also shared an early look of “TRON: Ares.”
The warmest reception to the celebrity parade was reserved for Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan from the much loved 2003 Disney hit, “Freaky Friday”. They unveiled their long awaited sequel’s official title, “Freakier Friday,” heading to theatres in 2025.
This year’s biennial D23 is the biggest Disney has hosted and has become a key marketing tool for the entertainment giant as fans travel from all over the world to attend. With characteristic Disney flare and showmanship and enticed by the prospect of seeing major stars, insights and inside news on their favourite franchises, tickets sold out quickly for the 12,000 seat arena.
The nearby Anaheim Convention Center gives fans even more chances of stepping behind the curtain with 230 panels, presentations and experiences throughout the weekend on five different stages.
The House of Mouse love fest ends on Sunday night with their Legends night honoring stars and creatives who’ve enriched the Disney roster over the years including new inductees James Cameron, Jamie Lee Curtis, Harrison Ford and Angela Bassett.