Disney has kicked off its huge D23 weekend in Anaheim with a monster entertainment showcase, bringing new Marvel and Star Wars footage, major casting announcements, Disney+ updates, and a frankly ridiculous amount of animation from Disney and Pixar. So, rather than make you dig through everything in the order Disney announced it, we’re putting the geekiest stuff where it belongs: Marvel and Star Wars up front.
Marvel: The New X-Men Assemble
One of the biggest announcements of the night was confirmation of the cast for Marvel Studios’ upcoming ‘X-Men’ reboot, including some names which had previously been rumoured or reported, alongside some new additions.
Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) has officially been confirmed as Nathaniel Milbury, better known as Mister Sinister, while Christopher Abbott (Poor Things) will take on Charles Xavier, aka Professor X.
They are joined by Inde Navarrette (Superman & Lois) as Rogue and Maya Boyd as Storm. Previously reported castings Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) as Emma Frost and Kit Connor (Heartstopper) as Cyclops were also officially confirmed during the presentation.
The news follows the reveal that Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) is playing Jean Grey, having first appeared in the role in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’.
The new ‘X-Men’ film is due to arrive in 2028.
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‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Gets A New Teaser
Marvel also rolled out a fresh teaser for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, giving the D23 crowd another glimpse at the massive upcoming MCU crossover.
Disney hasn’t given much away publicly about what was shown beyond releasing the new teaser, but with ‘Doomsday’ forming one of the centrepieces of Marvel’s upcoming slate, expect plenty more to emerge as the film gets closer.
‘VisionQuest’ Trailer Brings Vision And Ultron Back
Disney also unveiled the first trailer for ‘VisionQuest’, the latest Disney+ series spinning out of ‘WandaVision’.
Paul Bettany (WandaVision) returns as Vision, who was killed during ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ before being recreated without his original memories or emotions.
Joining him is James Spader (The Blacklist), returning as Ultron, along with Todd Stashwick (Star Trek: Picard) as morally ambiguous mercenary Paladin and Faran Tahir (Iron Man) reprising his MCU role as Raza.
The wider cast includes Lauren Morais, Diane Morgan (Cunk on Earth), Orla Brady, Polly Frame, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek) and James D’Arcy (Agent Carter).
‘VisionQuest’ arrives on Disney+ this October.
Star Wars: ‘Ahsoka’ Season 2 Trailer Arrives
Moving over to a galaxy far, far away, Disney finally showed off the trailer for ‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’ Season 2, nearly three years after the first season launched.
The new season continues the story of Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson (Daredevil), and Jedi apprentice Sabine Wren, played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo (The Society), as they attempt to find their way home from the mysterious galaxy where Season 1 left them stranded.
Back in the known galaxy, their allies are dealing with the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, once again played by Lars Mikkelsen (Sherlock), as he attempts to push the New Republic towards war.
‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’ Season 2 premieres 20th January 2027 on Disney+.
Ryan Gosling Takes Flight In ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’
Director Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling (Barbie) also appeared to give D23 attendees a first look at ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’.
Gosling plays a pilot named Kade, and the footage shown opens with Flynn Gray’s young character discovering a spaceship inside a rusty garage.
Kade then appears and asks: “Didn’t I tell you not to touch anything?”
That is about all Disney is giving away for now, but ‘Starfighter’ is shaping up as one of the more intriguing additions to the franchise’s big-screen future.
Pixar Puts The Parr Kids Front And Centre In ‘The Incredibles 3’
Pixar boss Peter Docter revealed more about ‘The Incredibles 3’, which will shift some of the focus towards Violet and Dash as they attempt to prove they are ready to become proper superheroes.
The pair have apparently been sneaking out at night to protect the city without their parents’ approval, while Bob is struggling with his own place in a world increasingly filled with Supers.
Jack-Jack continues to be Jack-Jack, which presumably means nobody is getting much sleep.
Peter Sohn directs from a script by Brad Bird, with Craig T. Nelson (Coach), Sarah Vowell and Huck Milner returning as Bob, Violet and Dash.
Ernesto Returns For ‘Coco 2’
Pixar also offered an early preview of ‘Coco 2’, which is currently planned for November 2029.
The sequel jumps forward with Miguel now a teenager, while Benjamin Bratt (Miss Congeniality) is returning to voice Ernesto de la Cruz.
“He’s a little menace who ruined a career and destroyed a legend,” said Bratt. “Ernesto de la Cruz is back for revenge…proving that fate has twists.”
That should make for an interesting reunion.
Pixar Opens The ‘Ghost Market’
Pixar also revealed more from its new original movie ‘Ghost Market’, coming in 2028 from co-directors Trevor Jimenez and Jesse Andrews.
The story follows a young boy named Kyle who has been forced to move to Hawaii with his family and finds himself entering a mysterious market inhabited by “hungry ghosts”.
Footage shown at D23 sees Kyle wandering into a dark kitchen where he discovers a freshly prepared bowl of soup, before asking the important question: “Hey, do you guys take Apple Pay?”
‘Zootopia 3’ Is Official
Disney confirmed that ‘Zootopia 3’ is officially happening, with Ke Huy Quan (Loki) and Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) set to return.
There isn’t much more to report at this stage, but following the continued success of the franchise, another trip back to Zootopia probably isn’t the biggest shock of the weekend.
Anna Is Getting Married In ‘Frozen 3’
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) appeared at the presentation to reveal one significant plot point from ‘Frozen 3’: Anna is getting married.
Her groom will, unsurprisingly, be Kristoff, once again voiced by Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter), with Elsa alongside her sister for the wedding.
Disney also teased a new villain during the footage shown to the D23 audience.
Jodie Foster & Walton Goggins Join ‘Hexed’
Disney Animation’s ‘Hexed’ has added two particularly interesting voices to its cast.
Jodie Foster (True Detective: Night Country) will voice Queen Celeste, while Walton Goggins (The White Lotus) plays Beef Roger, described as a three-eyed green cat wearing a pink coat who serves as the witch’s sidekick.
They join Hailee Steinfeld (Hawkeye) in the animated film, which arrives this November.
More Animation: ‘Gatto’, ‘Bluey’ And ‘Ice Age’
Disney and Pixar also unveiled another look at ‘Gatto’, which is due in cinemas next March.
Meanwhile, the first teaser landed for ‘The Bluey Movie’, bringing everyone’s favourite Australian Blue Heeler family to the big screen in August next year.
And the increasingly indestructible ‘Ice Age’ franchise is returning once again with ‘Ice Age: Boiling Point’. Queen Latifah (The Equalizer) and Denis Leary (Rescue Me) appeared at D23 to tease the latest animated adventure, which arrives next February.
Live-Action ‘Tangled’ Gets Its First Look
Disney gave audiences their first footage from the live-action ‘Tangled’, with Tegan Croft (Titans) starring as Rapunzel.
The latest animated classic to get Disney’s live-action treatment is currently scheduled to arrive in 2028.
‘Lilo & Stitch 2’ Brings In Angel
Following the live-action remake, Disney is wasting little time pushing ahead with ‘Lilo & Stitch 2’.
Maia Kealoha, who plays Lilo, appeared at D23 and revealed the sequel will introduce Angel, Stitch’s pink counterpart from the wider franchise.
The film is currently planned for May 2028.
‘Percy Jackson And The Olympians’ Season 3 Gets Darker
Walker Scobell (The Adam Project) took to the stage to introduce the Season 3 teaser for ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’.
Scobell told Deadline that the upcoming season is “a lot darker than any season we’ve had before”, with the returning cast having been able to see audience reaction to Season 2 while they were shooting the third run.
Season 3 continues the Disney+ adaptation of Rick Riordan’s hugely popular novels.
Disney+ Greenlights ‘Kingdom Hearts’ Series
One of the more unexpected TV announcements was ‘Kingdom Hearts: The Series’, a new Disney+ adaptation based on the hugely popular game franchise created by Tetsuya Nomura.
Rather than simply retelling one of the games, Disney says the series will feature a brand-new story which expands the ‘Kingdom Hearts’ universe while celebrating its existing characters.
Given that the games mash together Disney, Final Fantasy and an increasingly complicated pile of lore, there should certainly be plenty to work with.
Jon Favreau Reveals ‘Oswald’
Jon Favreau also appeared to reveal ‘Oswald’, a three-part Disney+ series based around the classic Disney character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
The limited series is currently set to stream in February next year.
‘Romy & Michele 2’ Wraps Filming
Finally, Lisa Kudrow (Friends) and Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) reunited at D23 as their characters from ‘Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion’ to celebrate completing filming on ‘Romy & Michele 2’.
And that, somehow, is just the opening entertainment presentation of D23. With Disney currently juggling Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney Animation, live-action remakes, Disney+ originals and a seemingly bottomless collection of sequels, there was certainly no shortage of things to talk about.
For the confirmed dated releases:
- ‘VisionQuest’ premieres Wednesday, 14th October 2026 on Disney+.
- ‘Hexed’ is released Wednesday, 25th November 2026.
- ‘Ice Age: Boiling Point’ arrives Friday, 5th February 2027 in cinemas,
- ‘Gatto’ on Friday, 5th March 2027
- ‘The Bluey Movie’ on Friday, 6th August 2027.
- ‘Tangled’ arrives Friday, 31st March 2028, ‘
- ‘X-Men’ on Friday, 5th May 2028,
- ‘Lilo & Stitch 2’ on Sunday, 28th May 2028.
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