After revealing what Disney fans have to look forward to in terms of their live-action films, Pixar films, and Walt Disney Animation Studios Films, on the second day of the D23 Expo they pulled no punches, with huge announcements coming from some of the House of Mouse’s biggest acquisitions: Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios. These are the heavy hitters of the absolute entertainment juggernaut that the Walt Disney Company is, so in case you weren’t one of the lucky few to get a glimpse at the exclusive content shown at the D23 Expo Showcase, here is everything we learned:
Lucasfilm
Andor
Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy took the stage to discuss Andor. The prequel to Rogue One takes place five years before the events of the Star Wars spinoff, following rebel spy Cassian Andor once again played by Diego Luna who will also be executive producing the show. Luna is also rejoined by Gennieve O’Reily will be reprising her role as Mon Mothma, in a twelve-episode season following the early days of the rebellion, with a second season already being planned. Luna and O’Reily took the HallD23 stage along with Kevin Soller and Adria Arjorna, who gave a bit more insight on Soller’s likable villain and Arjorna’s sympathetic scrapper. Luna also debuted the final trailer to the audience ahead of it’s three-episode premiere on September 23rd.
Willow
Warrick Davis and the rest of the main cast for the upcoming sequel series to the Ron Howard fantasy cult classic adventure. Joining Davis were returning actress Joanne Whalley returns as Sorsha with newcomers Erin Kellyman, Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Tony Revellori, Dempsey Bryk, and Amar Chadha-Patel, all of whom were in attendance at the show to premiere a brand-new poster. They also revealed that Christian Slater will be joining the cast as a mysterious new character joining this fantastical world. They closed with an all new trailer, which showed Willow and the gang fighting against a major threat.
Bad Batch Season 2
The next season about the band of renegade clones set during the Dark Times didn’t get a ton of new info, but Dave Filoni did come out on stage to offer a few updates on existing projects, including The Bad Batch. Filoni announced the season 2 of the show will now premiere on January 4, 2023, instead of the planned September premiere.
Tales of the Jedi
The new animated series premieres on October 26th, with all six episodes. Three focus on Count Dooku and his rise to the dark side, and three will focus on a new story with Ahsoka Tano. The teaser shown at D23 shows that fan favorites like Anakin, Rex, and Mace Windu will be returning to the show complete with animation that looks just like The Clone Wars. There was even a tease of a very spooky-looking new Sith Lord going toe to toe with Ahsoka Tano.
Ahsoka
The live-action Ahsoka is still in production, with Dave Filoni at the helm and Rosario Dawson reprising the role after appearing in The Mandalorian. Details are being kept under lock and key as the show only just finished filming, but we did get a glimpse at some screenshots from the film, one of which features the iconic mural from Rebels in live-action form with Ahsoka and Sabine.
Skeleton Crew
An original show from Jon Watts, Skeleton Crew only just started filming but will follow a group of kids stranded out in the outskirts of the galaxy. It’s still early in production, but Watts did show a new still from the show featuring Jude Law surrounded by the same security droids not unlike the one that guarded the door to Jabba’s Palace, and let fans know it will take place in the era of the New Republic post-Return of the Jedi.
Mandalorian Season 3
The third season of Disney+’s flagship Star Wars property, Dave Filoni, Jon Favraeu, and new executive producer and previous show director Rick Famuyiwa joined Kathleen Kennedy on stage to discuss the new season. They were later joined by the stars of the show, Pedro Pascal, Amy Sedaris, Giancarlo Esposito, Katee Sackhoff, and Emily Swallow, sharing the extremely positive experience of populating the Star Wars galaxy with one of its most popular shows. Favreau finished the showing by showcasing the brand-new trailer for Season 3, showing the return of Bo Katan, the first live-action visit to Mandalore, and even the return of Babu Frick from The Rise of Skywalker.
Indiana Jones 5
After giving the low down on Star Wars, Kathleen Kennedy brought director James Mangold to talk about the next Indiana Jones film. Original director Steven Spielberg is still on board in a producing role and John Williams will once again return. Then, they showed the very first trailer for the next film, and it’s just as action-packed as you could possibly want it. It features the glorious return of John Ryhs-Davies’s Sallah, rigorous car chases, and Indy whipping around the iconic whip (before being shot at, of course). Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Harrison Ford came out to a thunderous standing ovation.
Marvel
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
After treating audiences to a live performance of Rogers: The Musical, Kevin Feige and director Ryan Coogler debuted a new exclusive clip to the audience, where Queen Ramonda has a tense exchange with some accusatory members of the United Nations followed by a fight scene of the Dora Malija taking out a group of French soldiers attempting to steal their Vibranium. Afterward, a new teaser was also shown, giving a lot more screen time to Namor the Sub Mariner and the first footage of Ironheart taking flight in the MCU. Afterward, the cast consisting of Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Tenoch Huerta, and Angela Basett talked more about the film and making a continuation worthy of Chadwick Boseman.
Ironheart
Even though Ironheart isn’t even halfway done filming, we got our first look at footage from the solo series of Riri Williams, which shows the Iron Man sucessor’s new suit and briefly introduces Anthony Ramos as the magical Hood. Ramos also came out on stage to talk more about how magic and technology will face off in the series.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
With Wakanda Forever closing out Phase 4, Feige brought out Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, and Jonathan Majors out to discuss Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The cast also showed an extended version of the exclusive comic-con trailer showing a lot more of the Quantum Realm, a lot more Kang torturing Scott, and even a teensy bit more of Bill Murray's mystery character. More will likely be revealed after Wakanda Forever releases by the end of the year.
Werewolf By Night
Renowned composer and first-time director Michael Giacchino came to unveil a project that has been shrouded in mystery for the longest time: a Halloween Disney+ special titled Werewolf By Night. Stars Gael Garcia Bernel and Laura Donnelly came out to discuss the horror project, with Giacchino listing Poltergeist as being a major inspiration. He then finally showed the Hall the very first footage for the secretive special, which looks like it came straight from a Universal monster picture.
Secret Invasion
Nick Fury finally gets his very own solo series with Secret Invasion, adapting the popular comic series where the shape-shifting Skrulls launch an invasion of Earth. Already promised to have a slower, darker tone, a new trailer was shown, one that was also similar to the one shown at D23. The difference this time is that the trailer is available online for everyone to watch, so you can see a mostly eyepatch-less Nick Fury try to solve this extra terrestrial mystery.
Armor Wars
The War Machine solo show will be six episodes long and will pick up right after the events of Secret Invasion, which Don Cheadle will also be starring in. The series hasn't begun filming yet, but Feige announced the obvious in that this will be a form of adaptation of the comic series where Tony Stark's Iron Man suits are released into the world and have fallen into the wrong hands.
Loki Season 2
The first second season of any Disney+ Marvel show, season 2 of the show brought the cast on board, this time with Key Huy Quan joining the cast after taking on his own multiverse in Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. Even though the show is still filming, Tom Hiddleston gave fans a special first look at the new season, showing Loki phasing in and out of time and trying to show his companions from the first season who he is after they have seemingly forgotten him.
Fantastic Four
The news for Fantastic Four? Well, there is no news. Yeah, Kevin Feige stood on that stage and literally said "We don't have anything to share" in regard to Matt Shakman's upcoming film. Maybe next year.
Echo
Alaqua Cox will be returning to the MCU after debuting in Hawkeye. The exclusive trailer shown to the D23 audience shows that the Disney+ series will closely look into Echo’s Native American roots, followed by the deaf superhero using excessive hearing to outmaneuver her enemies. The trailer officially ends with the return of Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, AKA the Kingpin, who is sporting a fresh eye patch after being shot by Echo at the end of Hawkeye. The whole cast with Cox and D'Onofrio discussed how much of an incredible find for the world of acting and how ASL was treated with a great level of care in adapting Maya’s story.
Daredevil: Born Again (and a She-Hulk clip)
Vincent D'Onofrio stayed on stage to give a brief tease of Daredevil: Born Again, followed by his beloved co-star Charlie Cox coming on the stage to talk about the return of his iconic character. This strangely enough was the first time ever that Feige was on stage with the actors behind the hero and villain, and while the show is still in early development, we did get a sneak peek at the anticipated team-up between She-Hulk and Daredevil in the former's currently running show. The clip shows a friendly rivalry between the veteran Matt Murdock and the inexperienced Jennifer Walters as they stake out some small-time criminals, with the Man Without Fear sporting a costume that looks like the one from the Netflix series, but now with the classic yellow and red coloring from the early comics.
Captain America: New World Order
Director Julius Onah, star Anthony Mackie, and, in a total surprise, Tim Blake Nelson, finally returning after fourteen years after being teased as the Leader in The Incredible Hulk. This marks the first time in the MCU that Sam Wilson will lead his own feature film, donning the Captain America moniker. Carl Lumbley and Danny Ramirez are also back from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but where is the latter half of the Disney+ duo now you ask? Well...
The Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts, director Jake Schrier introduced the full roster of heroes (or anti-heroes) that will be starring in the film, featuring Red Guardian, Ghost, US Agent, Taskmaster, Yelena Belova, and Winter Soldier. Strangely enough, no mention of Baron Zemo, who historically in the comics has had a big role in the team of reformed supervillains. Thunderbolts has yet to start filming but is planned to be the final film of Marvel's Phase 5.
The Marvels
Director Nia DaCosta, Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonnah Paris concluded Marvel's presence at the panel with a brand-new trailer for the follow-up to Captain Marvel and the film debut of Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau after appearing in Ms. Marvel and Wandavision respectively. It shows the trio meeting for the very first time (with a quick cameo from Nick Fury and Kamala's family) and shows the three fighting against what appear to be Kree soldiers, no doubt scheming for a plan for revenge after being humiliated by Carol Danvers in the first film.
20th Century Studios
Avatar: Way of Water
James Cameron tuned in from shooting in New Zealand to give an update on Avatar: The Way of Water, the long-awaited follow-up to one of the most successful movies ever made. Cameron also talked about a “remastered” version of the original film, featuring 4K and a frame rate boost to 48 frames per second. The returning cast of the film also reunited on stage with Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang. Worthington and Saldanna discussed the different dynamics that Jake and Neyteri will have now being parents In the new film, while Weaver and Lang gave some insight into the pleasant shock of returning even though their characters in the original film died. Lang seems to be playing a resurrected Avatar clone of a vengeful Quaritch and Weaver will be playing one of the kids into of Jake and Neytiri, which is about as weird as it sounds. Afterwards, those in attendance were given an incredible surprise; a sneak peek at the film, complete with 3D glasses and all. We got to see roughly 15 minutes of all-new footage featuring some incredible ocean settings, a tense reunion between Quaritch and Neytiri, and a deeper look into an aquatic tribe of Na'Vi.