Yesterday’s Disney Investor Day presentation was a true marathon. Running over 4 hours, it played more like a weekend’s worth of D23 Expo announcements crammed into a single, somewhat awkwardly staged “virtual” show-and-tell. Nearly every section of the constantly expanding Disney empire was represented, from Marvel Studios to National Geographic (which Disney absorbed as part of the Fox purchase), who trotted out their most jaw-dropping upcoming projects, in an effort to stabilize the Disney stock prince and convince outside investors that things aren’t just okay, they’re downright magical. Using a winning combination of original properties and preexisting IP, various executives made sure to note not only the projects being developed for linear channels but just how important Disney+ is – now and going forward.

The resulting presentation was nimble and frequently surprising, full of some of the most beloved characters and biggest titles in the library alongside audacious new projects that only Disney could pull off. And if you didn’t see it, the resulting avalanche of news was definitely overwhelming. So we handily put together a list of the 10 biggest things we learned from the Disney Investor Day presentation, in all their glittery glory.

There Are a Ton of New Marvel and Star Wars Shows Coming

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Image via Disney+

While the beginning of the presentation promised 15 new Star Wars Disney+ series and 15 Marvel series coming in the next few years, we really weren’t prepared for how much would be shared during the investor presentation. Let’s start with Star Wars – first and foremost there are a pair of The Mandalorian spin-offs, Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic (the three shows will interact and crossover, much as you’d expect, and we’ve already started a petition to have Timothy Olyphant as one of the titular Rangers). Additionally, we got new details on Andor, the official title for the Rogue One spin-off series centered around Diego Luna; and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the official name for the series centered around Ewan McGregor’s interpretation of the character, set after the prequels (more on that in a minute). Also we saw footage from The Bad Batch, the new animated spin-off of The Clone Wars from creator Dave Filoni. There’s also The Acolyte, the official name of the female-led Star Wars series from Russian Doll creator Leslye Headland, which is set in the “High Republic” area of the franchise which is about to introduced in a series of novels and comic books and Lando, a new series being developed by Dear White People creator Justin Simien (they notably did not mention Donald Glover’s involvement so TBD on that one), an anime series Visions and A Droid Story, which will introduce a new robotic hero alongside favorites R2-D2 and C-3PO. (We’re guessing it could be an animated movie from Industrial Light & Magic.) Whew.

On the Marvel side of things, we got our first good look at WandaVision (coming next month), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (coming in March 2021) and Loki (coming in May 2021). We also got confirmation that Hailee Steinfeld will indeed be playing Kate Biship in Hawkeye (coming late 2021) and a neat teaser for the first-ever Marvel Studios animated series What If…? (including much of the same footage they showed at Comic Con a couple of years ago). And there were announcements for brand-new series, including Ironheart starring Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a kind of mini-Tony Stark; Armor Wars, starring Don Cheadle as his MCU character War Machine and following what happens when Tony’s tech winds up in the hands of baddies; Secret Invasion, starring Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos; a series of shorts starring everyone’s favorite talking tree called I Am Groot; and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, written and directed by James Gunn, which will be released on the Christmas (2022) before the new movie (2023). There were also updates on Moon Knight (it’s coming!); She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany will play the title role and Tim Roth will be returning from The Incredible Hulk, alongside Mark Ruffalo as Hulk); and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani in the title role looks perfect). Like we said: it’s a lot.

Hayden Christiansen Is Back as Darth Vader

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Image via Lucasfilm

Yep, Hayden Christiansen, who played Anakin Skywalker in two of the Star Wars prequels, will return for the forthcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ limited series as Darth Vader. This is not only a huge deal for fans of the franchise, but it signals a big step for Christiansen, who up until recently wouldn’t participate in conventions like the officially sanctioned Star Wars Celebration or talk much about his time in a galaxy far, far away. We say good for you Christian! And welcome back. We’re excited to see what else you do with the character.

Patty Jenkins Will Direct the Next Star Wars Movie

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You might have assumed that the previously announced Taika Waititi-directed Star Wars movie would be the next one to hit theaters. But you’d be wrong. It turns out Wonder Woman 1984 filmmaker Patty Jenkins has been secretly developing a project called Rogue Squadron, based around the fabled X-wing pilots. The film, which we don’t know much about, will hit theaters on December 22, 2023. Fasten your seatbelts.

Raya and the Last Dragon Will Be the Next Disney+ Premier Access Event

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Image via Disney

Earlier this year, a minor firestorm of controversy and intrigue erupted when Disney chose to debut their lavish live-action remake of Mulan on Disney+ … with a catch. It was released under their “Premier Access” banner, which meant that you could access the film with an additional $30 charge (it just went on the service this past weekend for free). Disney will be doing the same thing again, for another Asian princess – the star of their upcoming animated feature Raya and the Last Dragon, which will be in theaters and on Disney+ (via Premier Access) on March 6. Given how foggy direct-to-consumer numbers are, it’s unclear if Mulan was a hit or if this is just another experiment. But the fact that, during the Q&A portion of the Investor Call, one of the big investors asked about the strategy, the questions surrounding Premier Access haven’t exactly disappeared in a puff of pixie dust.

Your Disney Animated Favorites Will Return in New Series on Disney+

Image via Disney

Yesterday, it was a revealed that a number of your favorite animated characters will return on Disney+. Walt Disney Animation Studios announced short-form series Baymax! (based on the marshmallow-y robot star of Big Hero 6) from Raya director Don Hall and Zootopia+, from Trent Correy and Josie Trinidad, which will place an irreverent spin on a number of television show formats (both are due in 2022). There’s also Moana and Tiana, based on the character from The Princess and the Frog, which will be “long form” series (probably around a half-hour). Tiana will be out in 2022 and Moana in 2023. Little else is known about the new series but we are very excited. Meanwhile, on the Pixar side of things, the talkative dog from Up will get his own short series Dug Days (!), as will the Cars characters, and even more Pixar characters from Toy Story, Soul and Finding Dory will take center stage in "mini shorts" under the Pixar Popcorn umbrella.

Chris Evans Is the New Buzz Lightyear

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Image via Disney•Pixar

Yes, you read that right. Pixar is producing a new film tangentially related to the Toy Story universe. It’s called Lightyear and it’s a kinetic, out-of-this-world space adventure directed by Angus MacLane (who directed one of the Toy Story shorts and the half-hour Halloween special Toy Story of Terror). This time around, Buzz Lightyear will be played by world’s most handsome gentleman Chris Evans. Imagine this as the epic movie that the original Buzz Lightyear film was based off of. It sounds very exciting and totally cool. And before you start freaking out, Evans has already reached out on social media to explain how his character is different from the classic Buzz.

Hocus Pocus 2, Disenchanted, and Sister Act 3 Are All A Go for Disney+

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Image via Disney

Several long-rumored and probably longer-in-development sequels, Hocus Pocus 2, Disenchanted (a sequel to Enchanted) and Sister Act 3 are all a go for Disney+. Amy Adams will return for Disenchanted and Whoopi Goldberg will be back in the habit for Sister Act 3, but they stopped short from announcing Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker will be back for Hocus Pocus 2. (We imagine that their deals just haven’t been totally ironed out yet.) So far the Disney+ original films haven’t relied that heavily on preexisting IP, but these sequels should put a lot of gas in the tank for that area of programming and are all sequels that fans have been dying for. (An animated Night at the Museum sequel, multicultural Cheaper by the Dozen remake and haphazardly animated Ice Age spinoff film were also announced, although it’s hard to drum up much excitement.) Plot details for these follow-ups are currently under wraps.

Marvel Studios TV Shows and Movies Will Be Truly Interconnected

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Image via Marvel Studios

One of the things that was really stressed during the presentation was just how interconnected the Marvel Studios television shows and movies will really be. We already knew that WandaVision would somehow tie into Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (it’ll costar Elizabeth Olsen and be out in 2022). But now we also know that Ms. Marvel herself Iman Vellani will appear in Captain Marvel 2 on November 11, 2022, alongside Teyonah Parris as the grown version of Monica Rambeau (the character will first appear in WandaVision next month). Other MCU characters were teased to appear on She-Hulk and it’s hard to believe that the events of Secret Invasion, which depicts a clandestine Skrull infiltration, won’t have ramifications on the cinematic side of the Marvel Studios’ universe. In other words: to get the most out of the upcoming Marvel slate, you’re going to have to watch everything.

That Noah Hawley ‘Alien’ Show Is Totally Real (And Set on Earth)

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Image via Fox

Another project that was rumored but without any concrete evidence of it actually existing is now a truly real thing. Beloved science fiction franchise Alien is returning, via a TV show on FX. Noah Hawley, the wacky genius behind such series as Fargo and Legion, is in charge alongside Ridley Scott. (Hopefully Scott made them agree to do a third Prometheus movie in exchange.) The only detail we know is that the series takes place on Earth, something that had been teased in the series’ past (the original trailer for Alien 3 had the incredible tagline “On Earth, everyone can hear you scream”) and within the context of the deeply terrible Alien vs. Predator films. This seems like a great approach to combine the creative might of FX and the deep well of IP that Fox had into one unstoppable force, and we can’t wait to see what else gets born (chest-burst?) out of arrangements like this.

Disney+ Will Soon Cost $1 More

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Image via Disney+

The price for Disney+ will be going up in the spring of 2021 to $7.99 a month. Considering all they’ve got planned (and how much that’ll cost), we’re lucky it didn’t shoot up $5. And if you’re like me and are part of the so-called “Founders Circle,” who bought three years of the service, all at once, at 2019’s D23 Expo, you will be unaffected until your three years is up.