Written By Krish Lukha and Charlie Bourne

From the 9th September to 12th September, the D23 expo took place; an exciting event which announced a plethora of new films and series coming to both the small and big screens in the coming months from four major world franchises: Marvel, Star Wars, Disney Originals and Pixar. This year marked the 100th anniversary of Disney which evented in a new start sequence to upcoming Disney Original films. Unfortunately, many new trailers are unseen to the public eye and were shown exclusively to the expo attendants and are unavailable online.

Marvel

Starting with Marvel, there was a multitude of different films and series that were announced and given further updates during this event.

Films

Black Panther II Wakanda Forever: There was a second trailer revealed exclusively to expo attendees. However, after all of this no one still knows for sure who the next Black Panther is, despite many predicting it to be Shuri, the sister of the King T’Challa (played by the late Chadwick Boseman). This is the final instalment of phase 4 (before Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special which takes place between phases 4 and 5) and is entering cinemas in November. Update: a second trailer is out as of 3/10/22.

Phase 5 Film 1: Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania: Unfortunately for us, there was another
trailer shown only for attendants. This film stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily as the titular
characters alongside Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang trying to defeat a multiversal warrior, rumoured to be the next “Thanos,” known as Kang the Conqueror (played by Jonathan Majors). Viewers were introduced to a variant of this villain in the season finale of Loki, with exclusive footage focusing on Kang meeting Scott Lang and asking him whether he had killed Scott before (unaware that he was in a different universe). This highly anticipated film is due to release on the 17 February 2023.

The Marvels: Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau and Ms Marvel team up in this adventure that will come to cinemas on the 28th July 2023. Special footage was shown to attendees only, so the general public will have to wait for it.

Captain America 4: Starring Anthony Mackie as the new Cap, having taken over from Chris Evans’s Steve Rogers in a new Wakandan made suit with wings, it was revealed that he is going to have to fight “The Leader”; a villain previously only seen in The Incredible Hulk (which was released in 2008). This is film is due to release in May 2024.

Thunderbolts: The Thunderbolts have been slowly creeping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showed the arrival of the mysterious Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Val), played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and US Agent. Black Widow is when we first saw Alexei (David Harbour), the Red Guardian, Taskmaster, and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). Alongside them will be Sebastian Stan’s The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) and Ant Man and The Wasp’s Ghost. This film is due to be released in July 2024.

Armour Wars: Starring Don Cheadle as James Rhodes AKA Iron Patriot, this instalment in the MCU has recently been announced to be changed from a series to a film.

Werewolf by Night: This Halloween special will be released on Disney+ on 7th October and will be entirely in black and white. The trailer has been released online. It is said to be a pure horror experience… There were no further updates on, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3’ or ‘Blade’ which are both set to release in 2023.

Series

Secret Invasion: The trailer for highly anticipated ‘Secret Invasion’ was released online during D23. It features an ensemble cast with many actors returning from previous Marvel projects – most notably Samuel L. Jackson who reprises his role as Nick Fury. The series will focus on an invasion of Earth by a group of aliens who can shapeshift into humans. The series is due for release in early 2023 and will comprise of 6 episodes. Loki Season II: The first season of Loki ended on a cliff-hanger having introduced the new main villain of the MCU ‘Kang’. Luckily for fans, new footage of Season 2 was played to attendees of the D23 expo, leaving many fans expecting more announcements soon. The series is due to release in mid 2023 and will consist of 6 episodes.

Echo: After appearing in ‘Hawkeye’ in 2021, the character ‘Echo’ will be receiving her own spin-off show in 2023. The first trailer was screened exclusively at D23 and announced the return of
villainous Kingpin.

Ironheart: The opening scenes of ‘Ironheart’ were screened privately to the crowds at D23 featuring the titular character building her first suit in a lab. The character is due to debut in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe in ‘Black Panther II Wakanda Forever’ later this year. ‘Ironheart’ is due to release late 2023 and will consist of 6 episodes.

Daredevil Born Again: A new logo for upcoming series Daredevil: Born Again was released, but not much else was confirmed. The series is due to release in early 2024 with 18 episodes, which will make it the longest Disney+ Marvel Series.

What If…? : Although there were no updates at D23, the second season of animated series ‘What If…?’ is due to release in early 2023 with 9 episodes.

Star Wars

The first trailer to the ‘Mandalorian’ Season 3 was released at D23 with a release date confirmed to be ‘next year’. Fans are looking forward to the third season which will see some fan favourite
characters return. New animated series ‘Tales of the Jedi’ is due to release this year on the 26th October. The New series will feature 6 short episodes, 3 focusing on Ahsoka Tano and 3 focusing on Count Dooku.

The Second series of ‘The Bad Batch’ is due for a release early next year – on the 4th January. This series will contain 16 episodes. Additionally pictures were released for new series Ahsoka as well as some news about Skeleton Crew – a new series starring Jude Law.

Lucasfilm

Indiana Jones 5: 42 years after the release of the first film and 15 years after the release of the
previous entry in the franchise, the new Indiana Jones movie is set for release in 2023. The film – currently known as Indiana Jones 5 (although the name will likely change) finished filming earlier this year and a teaser trailer was shown to crowds at D23.

Willow: Willow is a new series coming out on the 30th November this year. The film is a follow-up to the 1988 fantasy film of the same name although most actors have been replaced for this series. A trailer released online after D23 displays the series’ action and humour as well as including some fantasy scenes.

Disney

The parent company has released and announced multiple new titles, including the
Little Mermaid and Mufasa: The Lion King. Peter Pan and Wendy: This project has been announced with Jude Law playing Captain Hook and Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell. Currently, no other information is known.

Snow White: The trailer was shown exclusively to attendees and has been given a 2024 release date.

Mufasa: The Lion King: This is the prequel to the live action The Lion King. This should be released in 2024 and is set to tell the tale of Mufasa, the father of Simba. It will be narrated by the iconic duo Timone and Pumba.

Disenchanted: This follow up to Disney’s Enchanted (2007) will release on November 24, 2022; the trailer is available to watch on YouTube.

Hocus Pocus 2: This film follows up from Hocus Pocus (1993) and premiers on September 30, 2022. The trailer is available online.

The Little Mermaid: This is a live action adaptation of the classic tale set to release on May 26, 2023. The trailer is available online. This movie has sparked lots of controversy since the reveal of Halle Bailey as the titular character due to the colour of her skin being different to the original Ariel.

Wish: This film has been made to commemorate Disney’s 100th anniversary. Footage has been
shown exclusively to attendees of the D23 expo and is currently set to release in 2023.

The Haunted Mansion: This film has been inspired by the iconic Disney theme park ride and has been announced to arrive on the big screen next year (August 11, 2023). Other examples of Disney films inspired by their ride include The Country Bears (2002), Tomorrowland (2015) and most recently Jungle Cruise (2021), starring Dwayne Johnson. A trailer was released exclusively to attendees.

Iwaju: This upcoming series is set in a futuristic Lagos Nigeria and is a coming-of-age sci fi series. The title translates to “The Future” in the Yoruba language.

Strange World: This film is about a “dysfunctional” family and their adventure exploring different planets. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, this film will be released on November 23, 2022 (soon).

Zootopia/Zootropolis+: This series consists of 6 episodes and will expand on characters first shown in Zootropolis (2016)/Zootopia. We will see the sloths, Benjamin Clawhauser, Judy Hopps and her family, Chief Bogo and more.

Pixar

Along with Disney, Pixar has also released a plethora of new titles.

Elementals: This film releases June 16, 2023 and follows the story of a girl made of fire and a boy made of water in love, despite their differences.

Win or Lose: This series depicts the same week every episode but from a different perspective and will lead to a championship game. Starring Will Forte in Pixar’s series, this will release in 2023.

Elio: This brand-new movie sees the titular boy transported across the universe after making contact with aliens in order to become the ambassador for Earth. This comedy is expected to arrive in Spring 2024.

Inside Out 2: A sequel to highly successful ‘Inside Out’ from 2016. The protagonist from the last film, Riley, has grown up into a teenager and the film shows how her emotions have changed since the events of the first film. This film is set for release in summer 2024.