BRWC At D23! By Julie Bate.
The ninth D23 unfolded this weekend in Anaheim, California and offered attendees the ultimate Disney fan experience. Over the course of three jam-packed days, fans were treated to all kinds of panels, presentations, activities, exclusive merchandise, and more highlighting the many stories, characters, and franchises owned by The Walt Disney Company.
The main event of the weekend was the Disney Entertainment Showcase, a sprawling nearly-three hour presentation of some of the upcoming movies and televisions on the horizon from the company. Introduced by CEO Josh D’Amaro, the showcase offered attendees world exclusive first looks at some of the most anticipated upcoming releases and a front row seat as some of the most recognizable names in the film industry announced new projects.
Out of the over 25 movies and shows spotlighted during Disney’s major panel, there were five projects that stood out from the rest, not just for the quality of the footage or reveals, but for what they signify about the future of Disney.
Here are the five highlights from this year’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event
Ghost Market
Pixar unveiled footage from a number of established franchises and previously revealed projects, but it was one of the company’s surprise announcements that arguably took the spotlight
Hitting theaters spring 2028, Ghost Market is Pixar’s first foray into the supernatural feature. Beautifully animated, Toulouse Le Trec style, the movie tell the story of a young Chicago content creator on vacation in Hawaii whose looking for a mid night snack when he stumbles on ghosts and other supernatural entities.
The crowd at D23 was lucky enough to watch a full scene from the movie, which had shades of Tim Burton. A brief vertical video teasing the film was released to the public and can be seen below.
Ahsoka Season 2
Arguably one of the best live-action Star Wars series to come out of Disney, Ahsoka will return in January 2027.
Dave Filoni, Rosario Dawson, Hayden Christensen, and Eman Esfandi were all present at D23 to preview the new season. They spoke about the stakes of the clash between Thrawn and the New Republic and the all-out war that will unfold over the course of the season.
A trailer for the new season was shown to the D23 crowd and released simultaneously to the public. The visuals look markedly better than the rather drab aesthetic of the first season. Seeing Hayden Christensen play a more sizable role this season is the perfect kind of fan service. And the new season appears to be shrouded in all kinds of mystery related to the Mortis Gods. Can’t wait for this one.
The Bluey Movie
Bluey will take the leap from television to feature film soon. Following on from an extremely popular preschool children’s television show, Bluey tells the story of an adventurous blue heeler puppy and his family.
In terms of raw quality, The Bluey Movie may not stand out amongst some of the others movies on this list, but it should not be overlooked because it appeals more heavily to younger children. There’s a reason Bluey is as popular as it is – the creative team have nailed an original, playful, and colorful animated adventure unburdened by deeper themes or narratives.
A teaser trailer for The Bluey Movie was shown at D23 and released simultaneously to the public. Check it out below.
VisionQuest
It’s crazy to say that Avengers: Doomsday, arguably the year’s most anticipated new movie, was overshadowed by a Disney+ series, but that is exactly what happened at D23.
Before Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans took the stage to preview the MCU’s introduction to Doctor Doom, Paul Bettany and James Spader showed up to talk about and present the first trailer for VisionQuest.
The trailer, which can be seen below, indicates that VisionQuest is very much cut from the same cloth as WandaVision. There’s no massive superhero battles, quippy one-liners, or heavy-handed connections to other stories. Instead, VisionQuest appears to be a far more inventive, cerebral, and existentially fascinating series about two robots trying to understand the nature of humanity.
Few Marvel characters have grown through hell the way Vision has, and it seems as if this new season will peel back the layers of Paul Bettany’s character’s traumatized psyche in a manner similar to what WandaVision did for Wanda Maximoff.
To top it all off, it’s amazing that Paul Bettany, who has been with the MCU since the very beginning when he voiced Jarvis in Iron Man, finally has his own solo series. October 14 can’t come soon enough.
X-Men
Last but not least is the X-Men. While no footage was shown as the film is still in the casting process and hasn’t even begun filming yet, it is difficult to exclude X-Men from a list of the highlights of D23.
Sadie Sink was on stage to confirm that she is back as Jean Grey, after playing the character this summer in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. She was joined by Kit Connor and Samara Weaving, who will play Cyclops and Emma Frost respectively. Both Connor and Weaving were essentially already confirmed to be in the movie after a flood of trade reports in recent weeks, but it was nevertheless cool to see two talented actors take such a massive leap in their characters.
The subsequent reveals, however, were anything but predictable. Christopher Abbott was announced to play Charles Xavier. On the surface a rather unconventional choice for Professor X and an actor far from having the regal reputation of Sir Patrick Stewart, Abbott is a fine actor, one who has impressed in the likes of Girls, It Comes At Night, James White, Possessor, and Sanctuary. It’s interesting that Marvel didn’t go for a big name for the leader of the X-Men. Instead, they went for an undoubted talent who has conquered indie cinema in recent years and is clearly ready for more four-quadrant fare.
Arguably the year’s breakout star, Inde Navarette, then came on stage and was announced to play Rogue. Navarette delivered an Oscar worthy performance as Nikki in Obsession and it was only a matter of time before a big franchise swooped her up. The MCU clearly won that race.
Maya Boyd, a theater actress with no feature film experience, was cast as Storm. Again, it’s interesting to see Marvel not opt for a recognizable name in a key role, instead turning to a performer who has proven her capacity to take on complex characters in another medium.
Then, there was Adam Driver, who appeared via video and jokingly said that he had mistakenly made it to see a tad early. Although the role of Magneto would have been a more interesting character to take on than Mister Sinister, Driver joining the MCU was more than welcomed and capped off years of Kevin Feige pursuing the Kylo Ren actor for a variety of other Marvel roles.
Lavish, spectacular, and unabashedly Disney, D23 once again showed the world what Disney has in store and, more specifically, what projects are worth keeping an keen eye on in the years ahead.
