@Courtesy of Disney
When at 9.30 on Friday, August 9th the Anaheim Convention Center opened its gates, thousands and thousands of Disney fans had already gathered outside of it, waiting to start this edition of the D23. At least four generations started filling the rooms where talking, panels, and events occurred. As always the enormous Exhibit Hall welcomed all those who wanted to buy gadgets from the Star Wars universe, Pixar, Hulu, FX, and all the other networks propriety of Disney.
The first panel that we were able to attend in the morning was Music of Marvel Studios, where composers Michael Giacchino, Christopher Beck, and Laura Karpman, songwriters Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez, and music executive Dave Jordan and Justine von Winterfeldt discussed their collaboration for several of the best Marvel cinecomics. The main surprise of the panel happened when Michael Giacchino shared for the first time some of the scores he is doing for the upcoming The Fantastic Four, whose shooting started just last week. There are some echoes of the “first” Danny Elfman in these new notes, especially the soundtrack the composer created for Edward Scissorhands by Tim Burton.
Then we spent lunch time with Woody and Buzz, at the panel commemorating the 30 Years of Toy Story. Legends of Pixar like the directors Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton among the others talked about the creation of the very first Pixar feature film, sharing with the audience addicts and curiosities about that magical time where art and technology found their perfect balance. The most fun story Docter shares is that…Burger King saved the entire movie! When Disney executives started to be quite worried about the development of Toy Story and Pixar artists were stuck with ideas that weren’t working, a sneak peek for a Burger King was organized to convince the fast food company about a partnership. Well, that executive left the screening room so amazed by what he had seen that Disney decided to keep going with the project. Power of the Whopper!
@Courtesy of Disney
The main course of Day 1 has certainly been the Disney Entertainment Showcase at the Honda Center: a 3-hour show where many of the most important movies and TV series of the next few years have been presented. The anticipation of the thousands of Disney fans has been filled from the very beginning when Bob Iger took the stage to introduce Moana 2 and its protagonists/dubbers Auli’i Carvalho and Dwayne Johnson. After that the first big surprise of the evening: James Cameron showed up at the Honda Center to announce the official title of the third Avatar movie: Avatar – Fire and Ash. “It’s not what you expect, but it’s what you want,” the Academy Award director has declared to the audience.
Moana 2 Trailer
The second part of the program has been completely dedicated to Pixar Animation Studios: the company has introduced two series that we will be able to see on Disney+, Win or Lose available next December, and Dream Productions. Four feature films have been officialized by Pixar: Elio on June 13, 2025, then in 2026 Hopper and Toy Story 5 by Andrew Stanton (where the toys have to face the challenge of being replaced by electronics), and finally The Incredibles 3, which will be writer and directed again by Brad Bird. Still, in the animation part, Disney has announced Zootopia 2, with Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan dubbing a new character, a snake, and Frozen III directed once again by Jennifer Lee.
@Courtesy of Disney
After animation, the audience has been driven into a Galaxy Far Far Away: in the Star Wars Universe, the biggest new entry is certainly Jude Law. The British actor has taken the stage to introduce the series Skeleton Crew, where he is going to play a Jedi who becomes a sort of mentor to the four young protagonists. After him, the fans applauded Diego Luna, enthusiastic about Andor Season 2. And finally the only feature film of the evening: Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have introduced to the audience The Mandalorian and Grogu, two characters that after the success of their TV series on Disney + will finally have their own movie on the big screen. This new Star Wars adventure started shooting a few weeks ago and will arrive in theaters in 2026.
When the President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige entered the stage of the Honda Center, a standing ovation involved thousands of fans. Anthony Mackie has presented Captain America: Brave New World and we had a first glimpse of Fantastic Four: First Steps, with a special video message from the main actors. About the Marvel series, Iron Heart from executive producer Ryan Coogler has received a warm welcome, but the real deal has definitely been Daredevil: Born Again, especially when the cast has shown up to cheer the audience. The real “guilty pleasure” about the series has been Agatha: All Along, with a stunning musical performance by the cast and the leading, superb Kathryn Hahn.
Photo by Image Group LA/The Walt Disney Company – © 2022 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved. – Image courtesy gettyimages.com
The last part of the Showcase has been dedicated to the Disney feature films: first of all Freakier Friday, the sequel to the 2003nbox-office success Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. After that has been announced a live-action version of Lilo & Stitch and we had seen the first teaser trailer of the live-action Snow White with Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot in Maleficent’s role. After that, the spectacular trailer of Tron: Ares was introduced by the actors Jared Leto, Evan Peters, and Greta Lee. Last but not least, Barry Jenkins has shown the audience the first images of Mufasa, a live-action acclaimed prequel to The Lion King.
Snow White Trailer
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