Disney’s bi-yearly convention D23 has wrapped up, leaving most fans like myself with good vibes and optimistic for what is to come in the next few years. A lot was announced and revealed in all categories, particularly when it came to what Disney plans to do with Star Wars in cinemas and their beloved theme parks. We have already done coverage for Star Wars’ developments which can be read here, and it looks like we can expect great things. Colin Trevorrow will be the director of Star Wars: Episode IX, the first promo for Rogue One‘s cast was released, and we got the amazing news that Star Wars Land would be created at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
In the animation depart, several films were announced or detailed a little more. Good old Pixar are back on form after the emotionally brilliant Inside Out (seen it twice), and introduced their line up – Toy Story 4 which is a love story between Woody and Bo Peep, Cars 3 (meh), Finding Dory (yay!), The Incredibles 2 (though all we got were posters), The Good Dinosaur which comes out in November, and Coco, a new filmed based around the Mexican Day of the Dead festival. On the Disney side, we were informed of Gigantic, Disney’s new take on Jack and the Beanstalk, and more information on Zootopia and Moana, the next princess movie that stars Dwayne Johnson as Maui.
A notable lack of new stuff was from Marvel. Considering their big reveals last year about Phase Three of the MCU, I suppose their presence wasn’t go to be as big as expected. Though, a lot of people were expecting the announcement of a Marvel-related land at the theme parks. However, there are some copyright complications that kind of prevent Disney from doing this properly thanks to past deals between Marvel and Universal Studios. Benedict Cumberpatch sent a message to D23 in relation to Doctor Strange, where it was revealed the character’s costume would be loyal to the comics. A little bit of Captain America: Civil War was shown too, briefly including the Black Panther.
Disney is releasing a lot of new live action movies too, including a number of remakes of their most beloved animated features. Now, I am a diehard Disney fan but even I think this is a little stupid and just an excuse to make some money off existing films. Why not just re-release the animated films. I’d pay to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the cinema then a pointless remake. Apparently, the studio’s third visit to The Jungle Book blew everyone’s minds with its impressive CGI jungle, while Captain Jack Sparrow sauntered onto the stage in relation to the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, with Orlando Bloom confirmed to be returning to the franchise. Alice Through the Looking Glass was briefly promoted with new posters, and the new Pete’s Dragon was promoted even briefer.
Video game wise, there was new updates for Disney Infinity, the announcement of Star Wars Battlefront, and exciting reveal that Big Hero 6 will be featured in Kingdom Hearts III. News in the Disney theme parks was really exciting. Along with the Star Wars Land announcements, we learnt Toy Story Playland was going to be built in Hollywood Studios, more updates on the land based on Avatar in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Epcot…is getting Frozen Ever After. Yeah, that one hasn’t gone over well with a lot of people. Namely because its predecessor Maelstrom told Norse tales in an exciting boat ride, and now is being replaced by a romanticized version of a Danish-based property. Also, the Iron Max Experience in Hong Kong Disneyland showed off its technology, with an appearance by Stan Lee.
There was the more laidback fun stuff like a reunion of the cast of A Goofy Movie to celebrate the film’s twentieth anniversary, a celebrational concert of Disney’s Broadway shows, and a separate concert featuring renditions of the company’s Silly Symphonies shorts.
Another notable event is the honourary Disney Legends ceremony, where a number of Disney employees are basically put in an awesome hall of fame. Among this years class were film composer Danny Elfman, George Lucas himself, and a surprise in the form of Johnny Depp getting the award too. How come Tim Burton hasn’t got one by now?
So there you have it. That’s D23 done until 2017. What are your favourite announcements from the expo? Are you excited about Star Wars Land and would you like to see a Marvel-based area too? Leave a comment below or on our Twitter feed.