D23: Disney’s Entertainment Showcase Recap

The D23 Expo is now underway, celebrating all things tied to the world of Disney. On Friday night, Disney took over the Honda Center for a massive preview of their upcoming movies, television shows, and more. From Marvel to Star Wars to Pixar to Disney itself, plenty of new reveals and surprising footage. Here’s what you need to know from Disney’s Entertainment Showcase at D23 2024.

Host Yvette Nicole Brown arrives onstage. A sizzle reel plays of footage of past Disney properties, with new looks at Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, Snow White, and more interspersed in. Bob Iger takes the stage, this is the first time in five years that he’s at D23. He talks about wanting to entertain and delight audiences first and foremost. He talks about Disney’s global impact, and the responsibility to do right by that. He teases that Disney has a big weekend in store for fans. He says Disney’s different brands fuel and complement each other in major ways.

Dancers and drummers take the stage to introduce Moana 2. Auil’i Cravalho performs the first new song from the film, “Who We’re Meant to Be.” Dwayne Johnson takes the stage and does a Polynesian dance. Johnson gets the crowd to chant a Polynesian phrase, and brags that this is the biggest crowd D23 has ever had for its showcase. Cravalho says Moana is now the leader of land and sea and a big sister, who spends her free time searching for evidence of more people beyond the islands. Johnson teases Maui is singing “in keys that don’t exist.” Johnson highlights the film’s impact, and message about believing in more and going for more. Johnson teases the villains are even worse than from the first film. A new trailer plays, showing Moana and her baby sister, the new quest, Moana being struck by lightning that guides her on her journey, a reluctant team up with Maui again, and the return of the coconut people. Johnson introduces Alan Bergman, who has been working with him for decades. They also tease their next project together: a Monster Jam movie. It will be a live action cinematic experience from the point of view of the monster trucks. Bergman hypes the larger Disney portfolio. He talks about Avatar initially being “the one that got away” from Disney, and how happy he is to have it back in the portfolio.

James Cameron takes the stage to introduce Avatar 3. He says getting new footage from the VFX artists every day feels like Christmas morning. He says Avatar 3 has really high emotional stakes and a challenging territory, and a new character fans will love to hate. It’s “not what you expect, but definitely what you want.” Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington take the stage. It’s too soon to show footage, but there is new concept art and an official title. We see the fire Navi, giant hot air balloons, tons of flight. Title is Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Brown returns onstage to introduce the Pixar portion. Pete Docter takes the stage, as his Inside Out emotions react to the jokes he makes. He thanks the audience for making Inside Out 2 the number one animated film of all time. A new Inside Out Disney+ series is announced: Dream Productions. It’s set between both films and will premiere in 2025, is set in the studio where Riley’s dreams are made. Footage is shown, a lot of madcap behind-the-scenes Hollywood fare. Pixar’s first long-form series, Win or Lose, hits Disney+ on December 6th, an exclusive watch party will be held tomorrow. It shows the baseball team and their different POVs of the story, utilizing a ton of different animation styles. Toy Story 5 arrives in the summer of 2026. Andrew Stanton is writing and directing. It will be “toy meets tech”, both with cell phones and an army of rogue Buzz Lightyear toys. A brand-new film is announced for spring 2026: Hoppers, a movie about humans hopping brains with animals. Mabel, an anime-esque protagonist played by Piper Curda who swaps with King George, the king of the beavers, played by Bobby Moynihan. The villain is Mayor Jerry, played by Jon Hamm. An alien from Elio scans the crowd to find Elio himself, making jokes about Disney and the audience in the process. Elio will be released on June 13, 2025. Yonas Kibreab, who voices Elio, takes the stage. Zoe Saldana is joining the cast as Elio’s aunt. They tease Elio’s unique hero’s journey as he is accidentally chosen to be a cosmic leader. A new teaser plays talking about space exploration. Elio is an alien obsessed kid who is accidentally beamed up. Gorgeous alien designs. An alien traps Elio, and a translator reveals that he isn’t going to eat him, just swaddle him because he seemed scared. The Incredibles 3 is announced. Brad Bird is currently developing it.

Zootopia 2 kicks off Disney Animation Studios with a bunch of animal puns. Ginnifer Goodwin takes the stage to talk about the film. Reptiles will be introduced in the sequel; they have a shady reputation in Zootopia. One, a scary snake named Gary, is voiced by Ke Huy Quan. New footage shows Marsh Market, where the semi-aquatic animals live, as the duo questions a giant seal who only speaks in “bubs. “Frozen III director Jennifer Lee hints at a top-secret original film for 2026. She teases that there are a lot of questions still left to answer in the franchise, so much so that it will take two films to answer them. The first piece of concept art for Frozen III is shown, showing Anna, Olaf, and Elsa riding horses with a horned figure in the shadows behind them. A filmed version of Frozen on Broadway will hit Disney+ in 2025. A stage adaptation of Hercules is coming. James Monroe Iglehart performs from Aladdin. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” is performed from Lion King. “Beauty and the Beast” is performed. “Go the Distance” and “Zero to Hero” are performed by Hercules. Samantha Barks performs “Let It Go” from Frozen as snow confetti falls.

A group of singers perform from the newly announced, in-development The Greatest Showman: The Musical.

Star Wars time. Jude Law takes the stage to introduce the first trailer for Skeleton Crew. It’s inspired by Amblin coming-of-age films, the four young protagonists are accidentally lost in space and need to find their way home. It arrives on Disney+ in December. The first trailer plays. Diego Luna takes the stage for Andor Season 2. He has lived with the character of Cassian for close to a decade. He teases Season 2 will heighten the stakes as Cassian finds his true purpose. The first footage for Andor Season 2 plays, mixed with behind-the-scenes details: intense rebel uprisings, K2 and Cassian meeting for the first time, Krennec. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni take the stage to talk about The Mandalorian and Grogu movie. Filoni knew since watching Iron Man that Favreau would make a good Star Wars movie. The movie began filming a few weeks ago. A sizzle reel of old footage plays, plus new: Zeb from Rebels, Mando and Grogu running away from AT-ATs, Grogu in a pod with Anzellans.

Marvel time. Ryan Reynolds sends a video message thanking everyone for going to see Deadpool and Wolverine. Feige takes the stage. Captain America: Brave New World is up first. Anthony Mackie takes the stage, talks about how heavy the shield is. New footage plays: it’s the same footage from SDCC. Fantastic Four: the cast records a video message around the dinner table. Johnny is in his costume. The same sizzle reel from SDCC plays. Ironheart: Ryan Coogler introduces the cast. A trailer plays, beginning with Wakanda Forever footage. Back in Chicago, Riri is stuck without her suit and failing at MIT. She gets expelled. Ramos’ character, The Hood, enlists Ruri in illegal jobs to get money to make her suit. She flies through the streets of Chicago. Daredevil: Born Again cast takes the stage. Jon Bernthal is honored to return to Frank Castle. They start working on Season 2 very soon. Footage plays. People are going missing. Matt is White Tiger’s lawyer; he has become a dangerous vigilante. People get thrown in front of trains. Kamala Khan’s dad is taken hostage in court. Bullseye is back. Multiple Daredevil cowls. Sex. Matt and Fisk threaten each other over coffee at a diner: Fisk asks if the threats are from Matt or Daredevil. A montage of both Matt and Daredevil brutalizing people, lots of broken bones. Kamala’s dad asks what kind of lawyer Matt is, “a really good one.” New Agatha All Along trailer plays. Agatha assembles her coven. They sing. They enter the Witches Road where they face a bunch of tribunals. Wizard of Oz. 70s. 80s teen movie. “Last one to the end of Witches Road is a good person.” The cast, led by Kathryn Hahn, sing the Witches Road song from the trailer. Hahn shouts out the Lopezes for writing their songs, brings them out onstage.

Percy Jackson cast and crew take the stage. They thank the audience for making the show such a hit. Percy’s half-brother will be in Season 2. Sea of Monsters confirmed for Season 2. They’re only a week into production. A sizzle reel plays of Season 1 footage, and then we see a shot of Percy in armor. Rita Ora thanks everyone for watching Descendants: The Rise of Red, announces the Descendants/Zombies Worlds Collide concert tour. A medley of songs from Descendants is performed. A trailer for David Blaine’s new National Geographic show, David Blaine: Do Not Attempt, plays. Blaine takes the stage, says the series is two years in the making. He leads the audience in a mass interactive card trick.

Disney live action. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan introduce Freaky Friday 2: fully titled Freakier Friday. Anna is a mom. Pink Slip is back. Footage from live action Lilo and Stitch “crashes” the event. First look at live action Stitch. Arrives in theaters summer 2025.Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot arrive to talk Snow White. Zegler talks about how surreal it was to play the original Disney Princess. Gadot says it was fun to play bad. First footage plays: “Whistle While You Work” with Snow White and the CGI dwarves. The first teaser trailer plays. Jeff Bridges comes out to talk Tron: Ares. He talks about the longevity of the franchise, and says technology and AI make this new movie more prescient. Greta Lee, Evan Peters, and Jared Leto arrive. Peters plays Julian Dillinger. Lee plays a human character named Eve Kim, a brilliant programmer whose work leads to Ares entering our world. Leto jokes he never signed his NDA, he plays Ares, a program looking to attack the real world. Rough footage plays: Dillinger addresses an audience about AI entering our world. Snowy mountains. Ares walks among a damaged world. Lightcycles and other Tron tech attack the real world. Lee’s character and a group of humans try to stop it. Bridges’ character greets Ares. Lasers cut into the screen and reveal that Nine Inch Nails are composing the music for Tron: Ares. A choir performs Circle of Life to introduce Mufasa. Barry Jenkins takes the stage. He confirms Lin Manuel Miranda is doing the music, brings him out onstage for his first D23. A clip plays showing the dynamic between young Mufasa and Skar, who goes by Taka. They sing about their brotherhood as they race through the plains. The cast is introduced. A new trailer plays. Another musical performance closes the show, as confetti falls to the ground.