Exclusive footage, major announcements and surprise guests are some of the ways Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios are expected to excite fans about the future of their respective franchises during Walt Disney Studios’ second panel presentation at D23 Expo.
Among the marquee presentations of Disney’s own celebration of everything Disney, the studio showcase Saturday morning at the Anaheim Convention Center will see the current creatives behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Star Wars” and more take center stage to tease upcoming film and series projects — and perhaps confirm or refute a few rumors along the way.
Disney already kicked the fan convention off in style Friday with its first studio showcase. In a presentation that opened with a performance of “When You Wish Upon A Star” by “Pinocchio’s” Cynthia Erivo, Disney live-action, Pixar and Disney Animation shared news and footage from films including “Hocus Pocus 2,” “Disenchanted,” “Mufasa: The Lion King,” “The Haunted Mansion,” “Snow White,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Elemental” and “Strange World.” Among Pixar’s announcements were its next feature, “Elio,” an extra-terrestrial adventure about a young boy who makes first contact with aliens, as well as the return of Riley and her emotions in “Inside Out 2.” Not to be outdone, Disney Animation announced that it will celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary with a new animated musical inspired by the studio’s signature wishing star. Then Ariana DeBose, who will voice the lead Asha in “Wish,” closed out the presentation with a performance of a song from the upcoming film, which will hit theaters in 2023.
Saturday, the attention will turn to Marvel’s portion of the presentation, which will likely hype the remaining projects of Phase 4 of the MCU: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” as well as an untitled Halloween special and “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.” Since the studio laid out its plans for Phase 5 and 6 during its panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July, its D23 Expo presentation may include news of projects that were not mentioned in Hall H, such as the previously announced “Armor Wars,” or news around sequels for “Shang-Chi” and “Eternals.”
With the premiere of “Andor” set for later this month, it’s likely the “Star Wars” series will be among those promoted during the Lucasfilm portion. While new footage of much-anticipated projects such as “The Mandalorian” Season 3 and “Ahsoka” were shown at Star Wars Celebration in May, official trailers for the two shows have yet to be released so they could be on the way. And beyond “Star Wars”-related teasers, the studio could also share news about its upcoming “Willow” series or the fifth “Indiana Jones” film.
As for 20th Century Studios, anticipation is high for anything “Avatar 2.”
Follow along here for live updates from the Marvel, Lucasfilm and 20th Century presentations at D23 Expo.
10:36 a.m. Master “Star Wars” storyteller Dave Filoni is introduced, in all his cowboy-hatted glory. The franchise’s animated offerings are first up, including Season 2 of “The Bad Batch” (premiering Jan. 4, 2023) and “Tales of the Jedi,” a collection of six shorts — three about Ahsoka, three about Dooku — out Oct. 26. (Filoni goes out of way to express his love of Ahsoka.)
Charles Murray, who worked with Filoni on “Clone Wars,” was a contributing writer on “Tales of the Jedi,” and Kennedy compares the quality of animation in the series to that of famed Japanese artist Hayao Miyazaki.
10:25 a.m. Kennedy calls “Willow,” the forthcoming TV adaptation of Ron Howard’s 1988 fantasy film an “amazing, magical adventure,” before introducing actor Warwick Davis, who plays the title character. “The force is strong in here,” quips Davis, who brings out the “Willow” cast. “Sorry, that’s one of my other franchises.” The cast, including Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman and Ellie Bamber, promises an abundance of sword fights and emphasizes the aggressive pluckiness of their characters. Cruz, for instance, describes her character Kit as “defiant, angsty” and “trying to figure it out.”
Christian Slater, who also appears in the series, comes out on stage and calls Davis a “legend.” “I love the fantasy, the sci-fi, just getting to be a part of this show was an absolute dream come true,” Slater says. He adds that “we came up with stuff on the spot,” noting he was allowed to improvise quite a bit in his role. He and Davis joke that the words of the writers weren’t always treated as sacred.
The trailer teases magix, swordfighting, and the group journey.
10:13 a.m. Lucasfilm is first up. President Kathleen Kennedy has taken the stage to “share what’s ahead for ‘Star Wars’ and beyond” — starting with “Andor,” one of our most anticipated TV shows of the fall, premiering Sept. 21 on Disney+.
After a recap of what the rebellion was up against before hope was found (a highlight reel of “Rogue One”), “Andor” cast members Diego Luna, Genevieve O’Reilly, Kyle Solle and Adria Arjona hit the stage. “It’s about the awakening of a revolutionary. … It’s about bringing change,” Luna says. Soller says it’s great to join the line of “Star Wars” villains you love to hate, and Arjona teases Andor and her character Bix’s “complicated” past. Luna then introduces the final trailer for “Andor” — it’s the first time even the cast is seeing it.
10:08 a.m. After blasting “Hooked on a Feeling” — a sign of “Guardians of the Galaxy” news to come? Or Ally McBeal’s entry into the MCU? — the morning’s panel kicks off with a Disney 100 sizzle reel and opening remarks by Alan Bergman, chairman of Disney Studios Content: “The biggest films ever released have come from these three studios here today.”