All The Big Trailers And News At Disney’s Fanfest
Disney’s “D23″ fanfest is basically part E3, part Nintendo Direct, and this year’s event featured lots of trailers, vague announcements, and even concept art teasers. It was an extended content roadmap of big-budget productions hitting theaters and Disney+ in the months and years ahead, with a few surprises and gaming tie-ins to boot.
The magic of Disney was so strong at the event that at one point fans even cheered Bob Iger, the CEO who made $30 million last year and recently announced a Dinsey+ price hike and password sharing crackdown, as he walked out on stage. What has the executive helped engineer since coming out of retirement to win hearts and minds?
The answer is tons more sequels and spin-offs from the series and franchises people already love, from Star Wars and Marvel to Snow White and Avatar, with one or two gambles on entirely new stuff from the minds at Pixar and other places in the mix. Here’s all of the major announcements from this year’s D23:
Here’s the Moana 2 trailer
If you have kids like me, then you’ve watched the original Moana a hundred million times. It’s still great, but I’m ready to see the seafaring princess and her side-kick Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson discover some new adventures. Moana 2 hits theaters November 27, 2024.
And our first-look at the live-action Snow White
Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. How do you like them apples? This movie looks like it was made in Unreal Engine 6. Snow White is out March 21, 2025.
Avatar 3 has an official title now
It took director James Cameron over a decade to make the sequel to the first Avatar. Fortunately, fans won’t have to wait long for the sequel to Avatar 2. The third movie is officially called Avatar: Fire and Ash and is out in theaters December 19, 2025.
Inside Out is getting a spin-off
Dream Productions is a new Disney+ series that takes place between Inside Out 1 and 2 and begins streaming in 2025. Pixar also revealed its newest original movie called Win or Lose, which looks like a modern-day CGI twist on The Sandlot. That comes to Disney+ on December 6, 2024.
Wall-E writer teases Toy Story 5
Writer and director Andrew Stanton revealed that the big crisis in Toy Story 5 is screentime. Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang will be fighting for their lives against the algorithm and the devices that power it, which is also what everyone will be watching the movie on. How meta. It’s coming in the summer of 2026.
There’s an Incredibles 3 in the works
This was one of those extremely video-gamey announcements. Six years after The Incredibles 2, Disney announced the family of superhumans is doing another sequel, though we didn’t get a release date or even a teaser, just a logo. I wonder if it will make it out before Kingdom Hearts 4?
Frozen 3 concept art looks straight out of Sleeping Beauty
The Frozen universe lives on, and it’s looking heavily Eyvind Earle-inspired. A gorgeous piece of concept art flashed on screen during the presentation showed Elsa and Anna riding horses through the woods as a horned figure casts its shadow behind them. Frozen 3 isn’t coming until around 2027, but Disney is already plotting for Frozen 4 as well.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew gets a teaser
Steven Spielberg has never directed a Star Wars movie, but if he did it might look something like Skeleton Crew. It’s a coming-of-age tale about a grizzled Jude Law helping a rag-tag group of kids find their way home to the suburbs in a galaxy far, far away. It’s set in the New Republic era after Return of the Jedi.
Andor season 2 shows Star Wars: Rogue One cameos
I need Andor season 2 and I need it now. Instead, I’ll have to subsist off the excitement of other people getting a sneak peak at cameos from returning characters like Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic and Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO. The single best piece of Star Wars storytelling from the past 20 years returns sometime in 2025.
Grogu gets armor in the Mandalorian movie
A teaser for The Mandalorian & Grogu reportedly showed the titular characters facing down AT-AT’s on an ice planet, and this time around Grogu is decked out in a full set of Mando armor. The TV series’ jump to the big screen doesn’t come out until May 22, 2026.
Black Panther 2 spin-off Ironheart gets a teaser
Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams from Black Panther 2 will be toiling away on new inventions at MIT in the spin-off Ironheart. Ryan Coogler made the announcement with a teaser showing Riri putting together a new suit of armor.
Daredevil: Born Again lands in March 2025
Netflix’s Daredevil is finally being revived next year with the original cast. Matt Murdock will once again be taking on the Punisher and Kingpin when the series returns to Disney+ in March, 2025.
Agatha All Along has a final trailer
The WandaVision sequel is just around the corner, and Kathryn Hahn’s witch Agatha Harkness will be facing a series of trials in order to get her powers back in time for her next Marvel cameo. Agatha All Along starts streaming September 18, 2024.
Lilo & Stitch movie teases live-action alien
I’m saving one of the best for near the end. Everyone’s favorite aughts alien furball is getting extra furry in hi-def CGI. Here’s your first taste of “live-action” Stitch. The Lilo & Stitch live-action movie arrives in summer 2024.
There’s a new Tron movie coming
If you thought Disney was going to let the Tron universe rest in peace, then you don’t know Bob Iger. Jeff Bridges and Jared Leto were on stage to present Tron: Ares with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Nine Inch Nails doing the soundtrack for it. We have no idea what it’s about but my money’s on an unstoppable generative-AI takeover. The third Tron movie is aiming for October 10, 2025, which is 15 years after Tron: Legacy and a whopping 40 years after the original.
Fortnite x Marvel: Absolute Doom is the battle royale’s next big event
Fortnite’s next season is all Marvel-focused. In addition to X-Men skins themed around the Disney + retro revival X-Men 97 that lets players turn into Cyclops, Jubilee, and Colossus, the next battle pass is a Dr. Doom takeover kicking off on August 16. I hope Robert Downey Jr. is one of the rewards. Moff Gideon and IG-11 from Star Wars as well as the Incredibles characters also got added over the weekend.