This past weekend, Disney held its D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention center in California. There was no shortage of updates and news from every corner of Disney’s properties. Fans were given updates and new information about Marvel, Lucasfilm, theme parks, and the company’s upcoming streaming service, Disney+. Let’s take a look at the biggest announcements that came out of the event in this D23 Recap.
Marvel – Kevin Feige took to the stage and showed off the upcoming timeline for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and to the audience’s delight, brought countless stars on stage All are going to be part of the Disney+ streaming service shows like Falcon and Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and What If… After that Feige made the big announcement of 3 additional new shows coming to the service:
- Ms. Marvel
- She-Hulk
- Moonknight
Feige made it a point to let the crowd know these characters won’t just be on the small screen but will be in future MCU films as well. This means that all shows will in some way, tie into the grander scheme of things in the MCU movies.
The MCU is growing and Marvel seems to be prioritizing adding content to the new streaming service.
Lucasfilm/Star Wars – Lucasfilm was a little less interesting in their announcements. Fans got to see a new trailer for the Disney+ show The Mandalorian and if nothing else it looks amazing. Lucasfilm also announced a new show that will follow the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi with Ewan McGregor reprising his role.
The biggest thing to come from this panel was the showing of footage from the new Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker film, where it shows Rey wearing a sith like robe and welding a dual red lightsaber like Darth Maul had in Episode 1. We are not sure of the context yet, but it definitely creates more excitement for the upcoming movie and has fan theories running wild.
Other Announcements – Some other announcements we found interesting are that the Muppets are getting an unscripted short-film series that will follow the iconic characters with celebrity guest stars. Not much more information was given but the concept sounds very interesting and a lot like the old school Muppets show. Also confirmed for the beloved Muppets is the scripted Muppets Now which will be produced by Josh Gad who voiced everyone’s favorite snowman, Olaf, in Frozen.
Disney also announced a bunch of theme park updates coming to Walt Disney World near Orlando Florida:
- Star Wars Hotel now has a name Star Wars: Galactic Star Cruiser and is rumored to cost $3,300 Per Person Per Night
- EPCOT will be getting a new look and will include:
- Moana Theme Area called “Journey of Water”
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
- Space Themed Restaurant named Space 2020
- Mary Poppins attraction coming to the UK Pavillion
- Beauty and the Beast sing-a-long in France Pavilion
- New Canada and China 360 shows
- Disney Springs
- New show to come to the La Nouba theater focusing on Disney Animation
There is a lot in the works for Disney across all properties and there is something for everyone. We no doubt will be checking out the new attractions at Walt Disney World but more importantly, we can not wait to see the new Disney + shows.
In closing D23 was packed with announcements and exceeded expectations on what’s to come. The excitement for all the Disney properties has become tenfold. It’s no surprise that they focused heavily on the new streaming service and after this event, we have no doubt we will be signing up for it. \
What are your thoughts on D23? What announcement are you most excited for? Let us know over on Facebook or Twitter.
