Entertainment
D23 2024: Everything announced and shown at this year’s fan event
Disney’s biennial D23 expo has followed hot on the heels of some surprises at San Diego Comic-Con in July — an event that saw the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How do you one up that announcement? With lots and lots of new ones.
Day one of the weekend event saw the return of several Disney classics like The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Frozen. And between Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars, there was something for everyone. That’s why we rounded up every announcement, trailer, teaser, remake, and more so you don’t have to miss a thing.
Kicking off the entertainment showcase was the official trailer for Moana 2. Set three years later, Moana and demigod trickster Maui team up once again to face a new threat to Oceania.
It seems Disney has plans for Moana to be its new flagship Disney Princess, because, on top of the sequel, we’re also getting a live-action remake. That has already started production and can be expected in 2026. However, you can catch Moana 2 on November 27, 2024.
This one has been in production hell and subject to some intense controversy since filming wrapped up in 2022. However, the release of the live-action remake of Disney’s 1937 classic is finally on the horizon.
The teaser trailer gives us our first looks at Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot as Snow White and the Evil Queen respectively, along with its heavily-CGI’d world. This one hits theaters on March 21, 2025.
First look at Stitch in the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch is another classic Disney film that no one really asked for a live-action remake of, but we’re getting one anyway. Given Disney’s visual effects track record when it comes to anthropomorphic animals, our first look at Stitch is exactly what one would expect, which boils down to “yep, that’s him alright.”
Beyond that initial teaser at D23, it was also announced that this adaptation of the 2002 cult classic will get a Summer 2025 release.
Incredibles 3 announcement
With Fantastic 4 getting some love as of late, it makes sense that the family film franchise inspired by Marvel’s First Family is announced to be making its return. Helmed by long-time writer and director of the series Brad Bird, Incredibles 3 was announced as in production at Pixar.
No further details have been provided outside the announcement. It should be noted that Incredibles 2 was the highest-grossing animated film of all time until Inside Out 2 took the throne.
Toy Story 5 teaser
Speaking of beloved animated Pixar films that … maybe should’ve ended two films ago, fans at D23 got a small teaser for Toy Story 5. According to director Andrew Stanton, Woody, Buzz, and the gang will be fighting to stop their new child from becoming an iPad kid.
“This time around, it’s toy meets tech,” Stanton said at D23. “It’s going to be fun, and we can’t wait for you all to see it in the summer of 2026.”
Frozen 3
Oscar-winning film Frozen is set to get its third movie in the franchise sometime in 2027, according to its creator Britney Lee. There was also a small teaser shown to guests at D23 that showed Elsa and Anna riding a white horse and a brown stag.
Beyond that, it was also announced that after the release of Frozen 3, there are plans for a Frozen 4.
Zootopia 2
Oh, look, another sequel. This time, it’s for the hit Disney film Zootopia, which saw bunny cop Judy Hopps blackmail fox con artist Nick into helping her solve a crime.
The duo is back again with Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan as a snake named Gary. The casting of Quan was the big news regarding this announcement, but fans of the series can expect this to hit theaters around Thanksgiving of next year.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Skeleton Crew is set during the New Republic era, the years after Return of the Jedi, and based on its plot synopsis, will be about four kids lost in the galaxy trying to make their way home. Jude Law is also set to make his debut in the galaxy far, far away, this time as a force user named Jod Na Nawood.
Mashable Top Stories
We also got a first look at what the suburbs look like in the Star Wars universe. Based on the trailer shown at D23, this show is heavily inspired by classic Steven Spielberg films like E.T. and Hook.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew premieres on Disney+ on Dec. 3.
Agatha All Along
A new trailer for the WandaVision sequel series Agatha All Along hit the stage at D23, along with a performance of an original song, “The Ballad of the Witches Road.”
Kathryn Hahn will reprise her role as the witch Agatha Harkness and is joined in the show by costars Joe Locke, Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and Debra Jo Rupp.
The show will follow Hahn in the aftermath of WandaVision having to face a “magical gauntlet of trials” along the Witches Road as she seeks to gain her powers back.
The first two episodes of Agatha All Along will premiere on Disney+ on September 18.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps snippet
Fans at D23 got an exclusive sneak peek at the initial teaser trailer for Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps starring Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing). This didn’t stop fans from recording it and posting it across social media though, and it can easily be found by searching.
The trailer is the same one shown at SDCC last month and is made from lots of test footage and conceptual previsualization reels. Still, what Marvel has on hand now with filming still ongoing is pretty impressive.
Alongside the all-star cast as Marvel’s First Family, the film will also star Julia Garner (Ozark) as the Silver Surfer’s lover Shalla-Bal, and Ralph Ineson (The Witch, The First Omen) as the world-devouring entity Galactus. Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and John Malkovich will also co-star in undisclosed roles.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to release on July 25, 2025.
Daredevil: Born Again snippet
Alongside Fantastic Four, Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again sequel series also had its exclusive trailer leaked on the internet by phone-happy fans. Feel free to search, because we won’t be embedding the trailer for this one here either.
Serving as a continuation of the beloved Netflix Daredevil, Charlie Cox and his co-stars Vincent D’Onofrio (Kingpin), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), and Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson) all return to make their official debuts into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The trailer shown at D23 was jam-packed with surprises such as the return of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Wilson Bethel’s Bullseye. Alongside them was our first look at the costumed vigilante White Tiger.
There’s no official trailer yet, but the show is set to release on Disney+ on March 1, 2025.
Avatar 3 is now Avatar: Fire and Ash
After the smash success of Avatar: The Way of Water, it makes sense that its planned follow-up film will be all about fire. Director James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña took took the stage to reveal the official title to the next film in the franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash.
While no official details of the sequel were revealed, Cameron did show attendees concept art from the film showing the Ash People of the Na’vi and their otherworldly masks — taking clear inspiration from traditional Native American ghost dances.
The planned release date for Fire and Ash is December 19, 2025, but if you can’t wait and want some Na’vi lore to fill the gap, check out Massive Entertainment’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora video game.
Freaky Friday 2 is now Freakier Friday
While there aren’t a lot of details about this film, stars Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee-Curtis appeared on stage to announce that Freaky Friday 2, the sequel to the 2003 film, will officially be titled Freakier Friday.
According to a Disney press release, the sequel sees the return of mother-daughter duo Tess and Anna Coleman (Curtis and Lohan respectively) as Anna and her daughter prepare to marry into a new family.
Also returning in Freakier Friday from the original cast are Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Haley Hudson, Lucille Soong, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rosalind Chao.
Freakier Friday is set to release sometime in 2025.
Tron: Ares
Finally to cap off this round-up of D23’s entertainment showcase was the reveal and first look at the third film in the Tron franchise, Tron: Ares.
Jeff Bridges once again returns to the series set in the world inside a computer mainframe. Co-starring alongside Bridges are Evan Peters, Greta Lee, and Jared Leto as the titular Ares, a highly sophisticated AI sent to the real world for an undisclosed mission. It was also revealed that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ band Nine Inch Nails will be composing the film’s soundtrack.
Tron has become one of the unlikeliest films to get a third film considering the 1982 film and 2010’s Tron: Legacy had disappointing box office returns. However, we won’t complain about getting more.
Tron: Ares is set to release on October 10, 2025.
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