with wonder launching the return of brothers Russo and Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU In Hall H at Comic Con a few weeks ago, expectations are at a high point due to the surprises that await us in D23 in Anaheim this weekend. Will guests get a glimpse of James Cameron’s next installment in the “Avatar” saga? Are images of “Zootopia 2” or the latest Pixar original “Elio” ready to be seen? With Marvel news still relatively light at Comic Con, will we hear more about some of their biggest plans or even get teases of disney+ series like “Agatha All Along” and “Daredevil: Born Again?” The possibilities are endless and fans are eager to know more.
Unlike many legacy companies facing the struggles of industry contraction and declining box office revenue, Disney continues to be on top, with two releases this summer that independently and cumulatively helped rescue movie theaters from uncomfortably low ticket sales. First, in June, the Pixar sequel. “Inside Out 2” exceeded all expectationsearning $295 million in its first worldwide weekend, the first movie since last summer’s “Barbie” grossed more than $100 million in its debut and the biggest opening for an animated film when currency rates are taken into account. It has since earned $1.5 billion and is still in theaters, but it faces stiff competition from Disney’s other big summer hit, “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Although the film prides itself on being less kid-friendly than “Inside Out 2,” it still appears to be attracting large swaths of audiences, including families, earning a record $444 million during its opening weekend across the board. the world. Its grosses currently stand at $924 million, but are likely to surpass $1 billion this weekend or next.
As if the news couldn’t get better, this week Disney happily reported during its quarterly results that the company had finally made a profit from streamingand revenue increased 15% last spring. Disney as a whole also announced operating income of $4.225 billion, 19% above its last accounting, largely a result of the box office numbers for “Inside Out 2,” but revenue for “Planet Kingdom” of the Apes”, a franchise that came to Disney, following the acquisition of Fox, also joined the mix.
To kick off the D23 Entertainment Showcase presentation, hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, Disney debuted a new reel of footage from every part of its history and even its future, with brief shots of “Snow White” and “Skeleton Crew,” as well as as a look at the next season of “Andor” and “Captain America: Brave New World.” A video of the reel can be seen below.
From “Moana 2”, Auli’i Cravalho was present to sing a new song from the sequel called “We’re Back” accompanied by dancers and backup singers. Her co-star Dwayne Johnson then joined her on stage to help introduce the film, describing it as revolving around Moana searching for other tribes beyond the waters she normally navigates and her relationship with her younger sister. . They also presented the last trailer for the sequel.
Johnson was also on hand to introduce a new project with Disney titled “Monster Jam,” which will revolve around monster truck drivers.
For the “Avatar” panel, writer-director James Cameron, after describing “Avatar 3” as “not what you expect, but it’s definitely what you want,” was joined on stage by the series’ stars, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana. Together they revealed the artwork, as well as the film’s title, “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
Building on the success of “Inside Out 2,” Disney and Pixar announced a new spin-off series for Disney+ called “Dream Productions,” airing in 2025. The animated series will follow the film studio that makes the dreams in Riley’s mind. See the concept art below.
Pixar creative executive Andrew Stanton has been officially announced as director of “Toy Story 5.” It was revealed that the plot centers around the time when children become obsessed with electronics. A short teaser was also revealed which can be seen below.
Other announcements from Pixar include a first look at its first full-length series on Disney+, “Win or Lose,” premiering Dec. 6, as well as a trailer for its sci-fi film “Elio,” originally scheduled for Dec. December 6. for 2024, but will now be released in theaters on June 13, 2025. Additionally, the film’s original director, Adrian Molina, has been replaced by Domee Shi, storyboard artist on multiple Pixar projects and winner of the Academy Award. Academy for Best Animated Short Film. by “Bao” and Madeline Sharafian, member of the art department of “Coco” and “Turning Red” and director of the short film “Burrow.” Original voice actress America Ferrera was also replaced by Zoe Saldana.
Pixar also announced a new original film called “Hoppers,” starring Jon Hamm, Bobby Moynihan and Piper Curda, directed by “We Bare Bears” creator Daniel Chong, who also served as a story artist at Pixar, and which will be released. will be released in spring 2026, as will “Incredibles 3,” which is in development with Brad Bird at the helm, but has no set release date.
Moving on to Disney Animation, another sequel was announced with “Frozen 3” already in production with a release date set for 2027 and concept art is revealed below. A fourth film in the popular animated film series. In other “Frozen” news, Disney revealed that they would be releasing a professional take on the Broadway musical on Disney+ in 2025. Other Disney animation projects in the pipeline include “Zootopia 2,” which will feature the voice of Ke Huy Quan as a snake . named Gary.
Oscar nominee Jude Law was on hand to unveil the first trailer for his Disney+ “Star Wars” series, “Skeleton Crew,” which is said to share DNA with “Stranger Things” in that it will revolve around a group of children who make a mysterious discovery that sends them on a dangerous journey across the galaxy. The series will premiere on Disney+ on December 3. In other “Star Wars” news, Diego Luna took the stage at D23 to describe the next season of “Andor,” which he says will take place over 4 years, and to reveal a sneak peek. look. Ben Mendelsohn, who played Orson Krennic in “Rogue One,” will also reprise his role in the upcoming season.
Other news from Lucasfilm includes the announcement that its new film, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” will be released in 2026. Series creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni also debuted some early images, as well as a logo. Fans were particularly excited to see the return of The Mandalorian’s Razor Crest ship.
For Marvel’s presentation, Ryan Reynolds did not appear in person, but he did record an introduction video to set the tone and thank fans for contributing to the success of “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
After this introduction, Anthony Mackie took the stage to introduce a clip from “Captain America: Brave New World” featuring the Celestials, Adamantium, and talking about rebuilding the Avengers. While the “Fantastic Four” cast was not present at the festivities as they are currently filming abroad, they also recorded a video for the crowd, with Joseph Quinn, who plays Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, the only one in costume . Although no updates were made at Comic Con, writer-director Ryan Coogler brought the “Ironheart” team on stage to reveal details about the upcoming series, as well as a new teaser that features Letitia Wright as Shuri mentoring Dominque Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart. .
An update on “Daredevil: Born Again” was also given during Marvel’s panel at D23, with a release date set for March 2025 and Jon Bernthal confirming that he will return as The Punisher. Bernthal appeared on stage for the event alongside cast member Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson, who debuted the first trailer for the reboot series. A trailer for “Agatha All Along” was also shown with an official release date set for September 18.
Also presented were trailers for live-action films such as “Snow White,” scheduled for release on March 21, 2025, and “Tron: Ares,” which will have music by Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross) and will be released in October. September 10, 2025. The cast of “Tron: Ares,” including the star of the original film, Jeff Bridges, as well as Evan Peters, Jared Leto and Greta Lee, were present at the event. Also shown was a brief look at the live-action version of “Lilo & Stitch,” which will be released in summer 2025, as well as a clip of “Freaky Friday 2,” whose title was revealed to be “Freakier Friday.” “
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