Bob Iger got a rock star welcome on Friday night: About 12,000 enthusiastic fans gave him a standing ovation as the Disney CEO kicked off his super-sized panel at D23.
“Wow, what a warm welcome,” Iger told the crowd, adding, “I really missed you all.”
It was something of a homecoming for Iger, who missed the final D23 in 2022 because he was in temporary retirement.
This year’s biennial convention gave filmmakers and executives, including James Cameron, Kevin Feige, Pete Docter and Jennifer Lee, a chance to announce new projects and give a sneak peek at what’s in store for the year ahead.
This year’s presentation took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, drawing in roughly twice as many people as usual. Cheerleaders pumped up the crowd in front of the panel, and fans were given glow-in-the-dark bracelets and envelopes containing playing cards bearing the logo of magician David Blaine (more on that later).
Read on for trailers, highlights, and new announcements from the panel.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Filmmaker Barry Jenkins welcomed Lin-Manuel Miranda to his first D23 appearance, where the lyricist debuted new songs from The Lion King: Mufasa, followed by a trailer that offers a glimpse into the relationship between an orphan named Mufasa and his adopted brother, who’ll later be named Scar.
Tron: Ares
After cast members Jared Leto, Evan Peters and Greta Lee appeared, Disney showed off a jaw-dropping clip from the sequel, then a red laser beam projected Nine Inch Nails’ iconic logo, eliciting screams from the crowd, and the news that the band would be providing the music for the film, following in the footsteps of Daft Punk, who provided the score for 2010’s Tron: Legacy.
snow white
Snow White was whistling while working at D23, where the first trailer was released, and embracing the fact that this film is a musical, unlike recent movies that hide their musical pedigree in their trailers.
Freaky Friday
The body-swap comedy was given a title, “Freaky Friday 2,” and stars Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis shouted the title to the audience.
David Blaine’s “Don’t Try”
The magician has a new show planned for National Geographic in 2025, where he performed a shocking trick for an audience of 12,000. He asked the audience to take the deck of playing cards dealt at the beginning of the show, shuffle the deck twice, and put a new card on top. He then called two people from the audience, one of whom drew the 3 of hearts. It turned out that all the spectators had drawn the same card beforehand, meaning that 12,000 people were holding up the 3 of hearts.
Agatha All Along
Kathryn Hahn leads the cast in a musical number, joined by other stars like Aubrey Plaza, before dropping a new trailer for the Marvel Studios show, due for release in September.
Daredevil: Born Again
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that season one of the series will premiere in March 2025, with season two beginning filming soon. Among the stars on stage were Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Vincent D’Onofrio (Wilson Fisk), Deborah Ann Woll (Karen Page), Elden Henson (Foggy Nelson) and Jon Bernthal (The Punisher). “It’s such an honor. I can’t believe I’m here with all these incredible people,” Bernthal said of his return.
Iron Heart
Black Panther: Wankanda Forever director Ryan Coogler took to the stage to talk about the Marvel show centered around Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), who first appeared in the 2022 film. The character is a genius MIT student who builds her own Iron Man-esque suit. Thorne, Anthony Ramos, Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, and Regan Aaliyah joined Coogler onstage to show footage. The show has been in the works for a long time, and footage was actually shown at D23 in 2022.
“I always thought there was more to her story,” Coogler said of Riri Williams.
The Fantastic Four and Captain America: Brave New World
Just a few weeks ago at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel hosted Brave New World star Anthony Mackie to show off footage from his film and the Fantastic Four. For those at Comic-Con, the footage was nothing new. But Mackie told a story about seeing Harrison Ford play the Red Hulk: “I have to be grateful that Harrison Ford is going to take it that far.”
Ryan Reynolds gives thanks (and criticizes Marvel)
Introducing the Marvel segment of the show, Deadpool and Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds sent a video thanking fans for coming to see the movie, but also thanking Kevin Feige: “Thank you so much for allowing me to make a little joke about Marvel. It’s my way of showing some love, and of course saving the studio,” he said with a hearty laugh. “I’d like to introduce the original Marvel Jesus, Mr. Kevin Feige.”
The Mandalorian and Grogu
“We just started shooting a few weeks ago,” director Jon Favreau said of filming the first Star Wars movie since 2019’s The Rise of Skywalker, before teasing footage of Snowtroopers, AT-AT walkers, and more.
Andre
Andor season 2 will feature some familiar faces from Rogue One, the film that introduced Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) to the world. New footage reveals that Ben Mendelsohn will return as Imperial character Krennic and Alan Tudyk will return as the voice of droid K-2S0. “Rebels are in the mix,” creator Tony Gilroy said in the video.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Fans have gotten the trailer for the series, which stars Jude Law and centres around a group of young characters who find themselves lost in a galaxy far, far away.
Frozen 3
Disney Animation’s Jennifer Lee has revealed that Frozen 3 will be released in 2027. As previously announced, she confirmed that a fourth film is also in the works. The Frozen series has been a huge success for Disney: 2013’s Frozen, starring Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, grossed $1.28 billion, while Frozen 2 (2019) grossed $1.45 billion.
Zootopia 2
Oscar winner Ke Huy Quang of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” will appear in Zootopia 2 as a creepy new character named Gary, described by star Ginnifer Goodwin as “a slithering, very venomous snake.”
Incredibles 3
At the end of the Pixar portion of the presentation, Peter Docter left the audience with a big tease: “Yes, we’re making Incredibles 3. Brad Bird is in development right now.” The Incredibles first subverted the superhero genre in 2004, and 2018’s Incredibles 2 went on to gross more than $1.2 billion.
hopper
Jon Hamm and Bobby Moynihan star in a body-swap movie with a Bieber. Yes, that’s right.
Toy Story 5
Director Andrew Stanton has dropped new details about Toy Story 5, revealing that the toys will face off against technology like the iPad and iPhone. “It’s toys meets technology,” Stanton said, adding that the movie will feature 50 malfunctioning commemorative Buzz Lightyear figures that will cause “serious problems.”
Inside Out TV spinoff
Pixar’s Docter took a victory lap following the success of Inside Out 2 this summer, thanking fans for making it the best animated movie of all time, and also announced some news: Inside Out will be turned into a Disney+ TV series titled Dream Productions, due to be released next year.
Avatar: Fire and Ashes
Avatar mastermind James Cameron has revealed that the third Avatar movie will be titled Avatar: Fire and Ashes.
“There will be new cultures, new settings, new creatures and a new ecosystem. You’ll see a lot more of the planet Pandora that you’ve never seen before,” Cameron said of the project, which is due for release in December 2025. “The new movie isn’t what you’re expecting, but it’s definitely what you’re hoping for.”
Monster Jam
Very little has been revealed about the new project, but Dwayne Johnson did tease a movie called “Monster Jam” that will feature monster trucks.
“We get to create something that’s immersive and cool and fun,” Johnson said, calling it a live-action experience told from the perspective of “incredible monster trucks and their quirky owners.”
Moana 2
Moana star Auli’i Cravalho and Johnson wowed the crowd by singing a song from her upcoming sequel. “Maui’s singing again. He’s singing in a key that doesn’t exist. And my hair looks great in Moana,” Johnson joked, before calling out his 6- and 8-year-old daughters in the audience.
The film is a sequel to the groundbreaking 2016 original, which has consistently been one of the most streamed films worldwide for years. It was originally planned as a TV series for Disney+ but was later upgraded to a theatrical release.
After audiences saw the new trailer, which has yet to be released online, Johnson handed the baton to Bergman at Disney, introducing him as “my twin.”
