Why You Can Trust CNET D23 Everything Announced: Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Avatar, Disney Parks and More
Disney showcases heaps of future movies and shows from Marvel, Lucasfilm and its live-action and animated studios, along with theme park updates.
Sean Keane Former Senior Writer
Sean knows far too much about Marvel, DC and Star Wars, and poured this knowledge into recaps and explainers on CNET. He also worked on breaking news, with a passion for tech, video game and culture.
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CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
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8 min read
King Thanos, the villain in the Disneyland Avengers Campus expansion, was revealed at the D23 Expo on Sunday.
Disney fans flocked to California last weekend to check out D23 Expo 2022, the first D23 convention since 2019 -- the year the Disney Plus streaming service launched. The event also marked the company's 100th anniversary (which is next year, but it's hard to blame Disney for getting its centennial celebrations started early).
Beyond the animated classics that Disney was built on, the company owns Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Avatar, Pixar and other beloved franchises, so we got plenty of updates about upcoming movies, shows, video games and theme park rides set in those universes.
CNET reported live from the convention show floor, capturing all the hype of panel reveals and reunions, so let's look at the big news.
Marvel Studios
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler showed an exclusive scene, revealing that the international community is after the country's supply of vibranium in the wake of King T'Challa's death. The Dora Milaje -- Wakanda's all-female special forces unit -- isn't going to let it go easily though. The movie hits theaters Nov. 11.
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever scene is super cool - the international community is after the county’s supply of vibranium in the wake of T’Challa’s death.
— Sean Keane@D23 (@SpectacularSean) September 10, 2022
- Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania kicks off Phase 5 of the MCU on Feb. 17, 2023, and an exclusive look at the movie showed Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne working with her parents Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, along with Scott's daughter Cassie Lang, to explore the Quantum Realm. We saw new MCU big bad Kang holding Cassie hostage and trying to force Scott to steal something for him. Also, Bill Murray's character appeared briefly.
- WandaVision director Matt Shakman was officially revealed to be helming Fantastic Four, which opens in theaters on Nov. 8, 2024.
- Captain America: New World Order will see Tim Blake Nelson -- last seen in 2008's Incredible Hulk -- return as the Leader and presumably face off against Sam Wilson. Joaquin Torres and Isaiah Bradley from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be back as well, and Israeli superhero/Mossad agent Sabra will make her MCU debut (played by Shira Haas). The movie comes out May 3, 2024.
- Thunderbolts' lineup was revealed to be Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Ghost, Red Guardian, Black Widow, Winter Soldier, US Agent and Taskmaster. This dark superhero movie will be directed by director Jake Schreier and hit theaters July 26, 2024.
The Marvels trailer gave me chills, especially when the trio fights together! Confirms that Kamala and Carol switched places in the Ms. Marvel finale.
— Sean Keane@D23 (@SpectacularSean) September 10, 2022
- The Marvels' director Nia DaCosta showed a trailer that teased the dynamic between Kamala Khan, Monica Rambeau and Carol Danvers, and showed the trio fighting together. It comes to theaters July 28, 2023.
Marvel on Disney Plus
- Werewolf By Night will be the first MCU Halloween special when it hits Disney Plus on Oct. 7, and it got its first trailer.
- Ironheart will see "tech and magic do battle," with Anthony Ramos debuting as Parker Robbins/The Hood, when the series hits Disney Plus next year.
- Secret Invasion got its first trailer, revealing a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating Earth for years. Nick Fury and Jim Rhodes have to do something about it when the series hits Disney Plus in 2023.
- Armor Wars will pick up where Secret Invasion left off with Rhodey getting a bunch of new War Machine-style suits of armor. The six-part Disney Plus series starts shooting next year.
- Loki season 2 hits Disney Plus in summer 2023, and Ke Huy Quan -- Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Waymond Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once -- joins the cast. An exclusive trailer hinted that the show will visit a bunch of different time periods in the wake of the season 1 finale.
Ke Huy Quan - Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - joins the cast for Loki season 2.
— Sean Keane@D23 (@SpectacularSean) September 10, 2022
- Echo, which streams on Disney Plus "soon," got an exclusive trailer full of striking Native American imagery and features the return of Wilson Fisk, looking awesome with an eyepatch.
- Daredevil: Born Again is getting 18 episodes on Disney Plus. It starts shooting next year, so there's no trailer yet. Instead, fans got an exclusive look at Daredevil's appearance in an upcoming episode of She-Hulk, which is currently airing on Disney's streaming service.
Star Wars
- On the Star Wars front, fans were probably most thrilled by the reveal of a new trailer for The Mandalorian season 3. Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, adorables all over the trailer, but things look tough for his dad, as Mando is grimly informed that because he took off his helmet, "you are a Mandalorian no more." Sure, whatever, but we bet they're not changing the name of the show when it comes back to Disney Plus next year.
- Andor got its final trailer ahead of its three-episode premiere on Disney Plus on Sept. 21. Diego Luna plays Cassian Andor as he's recruited into the rebellion against the Empire, in a show that takes place five years before the events of Rogue One.
- Ahsoka, the upcoming live-action series starring Rosario Dawson as former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, had some imagery revealed. It hinted at the show's links to CGI animated series Rebels. It'll come to Disney Plus in 2023.
- Fans also got a glimpse, though not a trailer, showing the always-dapper Jude Law, who's starring in Skeleton Crew, a story about a group of younglings lost in space.
D23 teased an image of Jude Law in Skeleton Crew.
- Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 2, which spins off the story of CGI animated series The Clone Wars, will kick off Jan. 4, 2023 with a two-episode premiere.
- Tales of the Jedi, a series of six original CGI animated shorts about Ahsoka and Dooku, got a trailer and an Oct. 26 release date on Disney Plus.
- Young Jedi Adventures, an animated series created for preschoolers and set in the High Republic era, casts Jamaal Avery Jr. and Emma Berman as Kai Brightstar and Nash Durango.
Incoming transmission. Jamaal Avery Jr. and Emma Berman star as Kai Brightstar and Nash Durango in Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures coming in 2023. pic.twitter.com/iAz6GkGdlx
— Star Wars | Andor Premieres Sept 21 on Disney+ (@starwars) September 10, 2022
Lucasfilm
- Indiana Jones 5 star Harrison Ford gave an emotional speech about the new movie, and gave D23 attendees an exclusive look at the first trailer that showcased the return of John Rhys-Davies as Sallah and the reveal of Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Jones' goddaughter, Helena. It hits theaters June 30, 2023.
- Ford also reunited with Temple of Doom co-star Ke Huy Quan 38 years after the movie's release.
- Willow, the eight-episode Disney Plus series that'll return to the world of the 1988 movie, got another trailer ahead of its Nov. 30 premiere.
Disney
Live action
- We saw the first trailer for the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, with Halle Bailey playing Ariel, along with a clip showing the new version of show-stopping song Part of Your World.
- We also got our first glimpse of the Snow White live-action remake, which stars West Side Story's Rachel Zegler as the titular hero and Gal Gadot as the evil queen, and is due out March 22, 2024.
- There was also a new trailer for Hocus Pocus 2, which hits Disney Plus on Sept. 30.
- We got a glimpse at Mufasa: The Lion King, the prequel coming from Moonlight director Barry Jenkins. It'll reveal the story of Simba's father on July 5, 2024.
- Also released was a trailer for Peter Pan and Wendy, which stars Jude Law as Captain Hook and will stream on Disney Plus in 2023.
- We got a look at Haunted Mansion, based on the Disney Parks ride. It'll star Jamie Lee Curtis as the spooky Madame Leota, and it's set to come out Aug. 11, 2023.
- A trailer was released for Disenchanted, the sequel to 2007's Enchanted starring Amy Adams. It'll hit Disney Plus on Nov. 24.
- The Santa Clauses, a miniseries continuing on from the Tim Allen movie trilogy, got a trailer and Nov. 16 two-episode premiere date.
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians, an eight-episode Disney Plus adaptation of Rick Riordan's novel series, got a trailer. It'll hit the streaming service "soon."
- National Treasure: Edge of History, a spinoff of the movie series, got its first trailer. The first two episodes hit Disney Plus on Dec. 14.
Animation
- Disney Plus short series Zootopia Plus will consist of six new stories set in the world of 2016 movie Zootopia. These will come out Nov. 9.
- We got a look at animated series Iwájú, which will explore "a futuristic version of Lagos, Nigeria" when it hits Disney Plus in 2023.
Strange World will explore some alien environments.
- We got another look at Strange World, an animated movie that stars Jake Gyllenhaal and comes to theaters Nov. 23.
- Also announced was the animated musical movie Wish, which explores the concept of wishing upon a star and is set to come out Nov. 22, 2023. It'll star West Side Story's Ariana DeBose and Rogue One's Alan Tudyk.
- Mickey: The Story of a Mouse, got a documentary about Disney's iconic mascot, got a trailer. It'll land on Disney Plus on Nov. 18, the 94th anniversary of Mickey's first appearance in animated short Steamboat Willie.
Theme parks
The highlight of the show's final day was the theme park-centric A Boundless Future: Disney Parks, Experiences and Products presentation. It revealed plans for US parks like California's Disneyland and Florida's Disney World, along with international locations Disneyland Paris, Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Tokyo Disney Resort:
- Avengers Campus at Disneyland's California Adventure park will be getting a Multiverse-themed third attraction. King Thanos, a new version of the character from a reality where he won, will be the villain of this attraction's story. It's unclear when this will open.
- The Mandalorian and Grogu will start wandering around Galaxy's Edge -- the Star Wars land -- in Disneyland from mid-November.
King Thanos, a new version of the character from a reality where he won, is coming to the Disney Parks Avengers Campus with a new attraction. Serious Maestro Hulk vibes. pic.twitter.com/pZ2EIgp2Ju
— Sean Keane@D23 (@SpectacularSean) September 11, 2022
- Tiana's Bayou Adventure, the rethemed version of Splash Mountain based on The Princess and the Frog, got a musical showcase ahead of its arrival in Disneyland in late 2024. Its story takes place after the events of the movie.
- Tron: Lightcycle Run got a launch date at Disney World's Magic Kingdom park: spring 2023.
- The Disney Treasure cruise ship was revealed, and it'll have an Aladdin theme.
- We got a look at the Frozen attractions coming to Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. Paris is also getting a Tangled attraction.
- Disney World's Magic Kingdom park is adding an Encanto area, a Coco area and a villains area in the coming years.
Pixar
- Amy Poehler made an appearance to announce Inside Out 2, the sequel to the 2015 classic. It'll follow a teenage Riley, introduce new emotion characters and is due out June 14, 2024.
Things will get emotional in Inside Out 2.
- We got an early look at new movie Elemental, which comes out in the summer of 2023. It follows Ember, who's made of fire, and Wake, who consists of water, as they grow close in a city where people are defined by their elemental makeup.
- We got a first look at new movie Elio, which follows a bookish kid as he makes first contact with aliens. He's brought to their world and becomes Earth's ambassador to the rest of the universe. It's scheduled for release March 1, 2024.
- Win or Lose, an animated series coming to Disney Plus in fall 2023, follows a co-ed middle school softball team in the week leading up to their championship game. Each episode takes place that week, jumping to the perspective of a main character.
20th Century Studios
- Director James Cameron called in to the event from New Zealand to discuss long-awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water, and the crowd was given 3D glasses to watch some breathtaking footage. The movie comes out Dec. 16.
The Avatar: The Way of Water scenes shown to the D23 crowd suggest it’ll be the most visually stunning cinematic experience of all time. I just hope I care about the story!
— Sean Keane@D23 (@SpectacularSean) September 10, 2022
Disney and Marvel video games
Black Panther and Captain America will be two of the four heroes in Skydance's Marvel game.
The Disney & Marvel Game Showcase saw a bunch of reveals:
- An untitled World War II-set game starring Captain America and Black Panther, which didn't get a release date.
- Nintendo Switch co-op platformer Disney Illusion Island, which lets you play as Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy and is coming in 2023.
- Puzzle mystery game Tron: Identity, out in 2023.
- Gargoyles Remastered, an updated version of the classic '90s platformer. The release date is unclear.
- AR mobile game Marvel World of Heroes from Pokemon Go developer Niantic, coming in 2023.
We also got first looks at mobile MMO shooter Avatar: Reckoning (which is coming soon) and tactical squad-based action game Aliens: Dark Descent (coming to consoles and PC next year). Marvel's Midnight Suns was delayed to Dec. 2, and prequel shorts will build up the narrative when they start hitting YouTube on Oct. 31.
