Disney’s (usually) biennial D23 Expo returned this weekend, after being pushed back a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event brought plenty of news regarding Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and other comic book adaptations, from TV shows to theme parks, and beyond.
Studio Showcase: Marvel Studios:
– Marvel’s presentation began with footage from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (releasing November 11) and Ironheart (premiering late 2023). The latter debuted Anthony Ramos as the Hood (Parker Robbins), whom Feige stated was chosen as the villain because his magic powers offered an unusual contrast to Riri Williams’s technology. Jim Rash was also revealed to be reprising his role as the MIT liaison from Captain America: Civil War.
– Composer-turned-director Michael Giacchino introduced the Halloween special Werewolf by Night, starring Gael García Bernal and Laura Donnelly. He described it as a love letter to the horror movies of the 1930s and ’40s, and the trailer proves he wasn’t kidding, revealing the cinematography has a vintage, black-and-white approach. (It also has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance from Man-Thing.) It will be released on Disney+ on Friday, October 7.
– The Secret Invasion trailer from San Diego Comic-Con was screened before being released online. It shows Nick Fury returning to Earth after Talos apparently loses control of the Skrulls to Kingsley Ben-Adir’s villain; it also features Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman’s unnamed characters, plus the return of Maria Hill, James Rhodes, and Everett K. Ross. Don Cheadle introduced the trailer at the event, and stated the show will lead directly into Rhodey’s miniseries, Armor Wars.
– Captain America: New World Order (releasing May 3, 2024) will bring back Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, and Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/The Leader, 16 years after he first played the character in The Incredible Hulk. (Director Julius Onah subsequently confirmed the Leader will serve as the film’s villain.) It will also introduce Shira Haas (Unorthodox) as Israeli superheroine Sabra (Ruth Bat-Seraph).
– Teaser artwork for Thunderbolts (July 26, 2024) revealed the film’s line-up will consist of Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko). Julia Louis-Dreyfus will reprise her role as the group’s mastermind, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, or “Val.”
– A teaser for Echo (Summer 2023) was shown, revealing Kingpin/Wilson Fisk is sporting an eyepatch as a result of the events in Hawkeye, as well as black-and-white footage and subtitles. The show’s cast stressed they learned American Sign Language for their roles.
– The trailer for The Marvels (July 28, 2023) was screened, revealing the plot involves the three leads — Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau — swapping places whenever they use their powers, a problem they must work together to solve.
– Ke Huy Quan (Everything, Everywhere All at Once, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) revealed he has joined the cast of Loki season two, premiering sometime in 2023.
– Matt Shakman (WandaVision) was confirmed to direct the Fantastic Four reboot (out November 8, 2024), but no casting news was announced.
Studio Showcase: Lucasfilm
– Star Wars: The Bad Batch season two was announced as returning January 4, 2023, with a two-part premiere, while the six-part anthology Tales of the Jedi will premiere all at once on October 26, 2022. The trailer for the latter was also released online, revealing Dooku and Qui-Gon Jinn’s past, and Ahsoka Tano’s encounter with a never-before-seen Inquisitor.
– The trailer for The Mandalorian season three, debuting early 2023, was also released, as was a final trailer for Andor (premiering September 21):
Head here for more from Lucasfilm’s presentation. Although Hollywood trade papers reported over the weekend that Eman Esfandi (King Richard) had been cast as Ezra Bridger in the Ahsoka miniseries, he did not appear at the event with his fellow cast members.
Continued belowDisney’s Epic Entertainment Showcase: The Musical: The Extravaganza:
– American Born Chinese, the upcoming Disney+ series based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel, helped kick off Disney Branded Television’s livestream, with the show’s cast and creators introducing a behind-the-scenes featurette. Ke Huy Quan strongly hinted his character, Freddy Wong, was the show’s version of Chin-Kee, and thanked Destin Daniel Cretton and Kelvin Yu for promising him future work in case of a backlash.
– The first full trailer for Disney Channel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur was shown, disclosing the show will premiere on February 10, 2023. As well as Lunella Lafayette (Diamond White)’s family and best friend Casey (Libe Barer), the trailer introduces a variety of villains, including executive producer Laurence Fishburne’s Beyonder, and Alison Brie as the electrifying Aftershock.
– It was also announced Jamaal Avery, Jr. (Abbott Elementary) and Emma Berman (Luca) will headline the Disney Junior show Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. The livestream was turned off during the screening of the show’s footage, although the Star Wars Twitter account shared a first look at the main characters, including Yoda and a blue Ewok youngling. Avery will play Kai Brightstar, a Jedi-in-training, while Berman will voice a pilot named Nash Durango.
A Boundless Future: Disney Parks, Experiences and Products:
At the theme park showcase, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro and Kevin Feige unveiled an unnamed, upcoming attraction for Disney California Adventure Park’s Avengers Campus, in which visitors will fight alongside heroes from the multiverse against King Thanos, a variant from a universe where he won. (A version based in turn on Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw’s future incarnation from the 2017 “Thanos” series.) They also revealed the Hulk will be making his debut at Avengers Campus this week, unveiling the to-scale costume of the character in a Quantum Suit the performer will wear.
During the subsequent flurry of animated Disney film-related announcements and teases, D’Amaro revealed that Avengers Campus’s neighboring Pacific Wharf area will be redeveloped into San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6. The area, originally intended as a tribute to Monterey, California’s fishing industry, is currently primarily a food court.
Disney & Marvel Games Showcase:
During Friday’s 20-minute video games presentation, it was announced Midnight Suns will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on Friday, December 2, with a previous gen console and Nintendo Switch release to be confirmed later on. In the meantime, the game will receive five animated prequel shorts, which will be released on Marvel’s YouTube channel every week beginning October 31.
Furthermore, it was revealed Skydance New Media’s untitled Marvel game, overseen by former Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig, will be a World War II adventure starring Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Black Panther (Azzuri, T’Challa’s grandfather). Gamers will also be able to play as the Howling Commando Gabe Jones, and Nanali, “leader of the fledgling Wakandan Spy Network.” Further details on the project weren’t revealed, although the trailer hinted HYDRA would be the main villains.
For more of the announcements from this weekend, head to the official D23 website’s coverage of the presentations from Disney & Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm & 20th Century Studios, Disney Branded Television, and Disney Parks.
