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‘Avatar 2’, ‘Doctor Strange 2’, ‘Lightyear’ and More Stunned CinemaCon With Footage at the Disney Presentation

by · April 27, 2022

Disney showed the first trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water at CinemaCon

After the impressive presentation that Warner Bros. displayed on Tuesday, Disney grabbed the baton on Wednesday morning and left some jaws on the floor after showcasing footage from Avatar 2, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Lightyear, and more.

 

Even though it was the last movie to be highlighted, we’ll start with the Avatar sequel. Disney officially announced that it will be titled Avatar: The Way of Water, and showed a 3D trailer for the new movie that will be seen exclusively in theaters for a week, in front of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It will drop online right after that, confirming our small scoop from last week.

 

Here is the official synopsis of the movie, from Disney:

 

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the film stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Giovanni Ribisi, and Kate Winslet.

 

Disney also announced they will be re-releasing the first Avatar in theaters on September 29. The Hollywood Reporter released a description of the footage they got to see, too:

 

“The dazzling footage in the teaser trailer focuses on Jake and Neytiri, and included gorgeous shots of Pandora’s bright blue water — both above and below the surface, including riding the Toruk, flying creatures introduced in the first film, and swimming with new whale-like creatures.”

 

 

Producer Jon Landau said during the panel they intend to make this a big theatrical experience, just like the 2009 film was:

 

“We need to make sure [audiences] have an experience they can’t get anywhere else, and that needs to be exclusively in theaters.”

 

CinemaCon attendees also got the chance to see the first 15 minutes of the upcoming Marvel Studios sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. From the description of what happens, it looks like Sam Raimi and the team did not want to waste any second of screentime. Check it out below:

 

 

Speaking of Marvel Studios, while no Thor: Love and Thunder footage was apparently screened, the audience did have the chance to take a look at the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Marvel still hasn’t clarified what is going on with the titular character, and the scene they got to see featured three of the main ladies from Wakanda: Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye. They are about to enter a massive battle. Read on below:

 

 

And to wrap up the Marvel Studios part, we should mention that Kevin Feige said that, right after the panel, he’d be heading to a Marvel Studios creative retreat, in which he and other top executives will be planning out the next ten years of Marvel films. And multiverses will be a big part of it, apparently:

 

 

Disney also showed the audience the first 30 minutes of Pixar’s new animated feature, Lightyear:

 

 

Here is Deadline‘s description of the footage:

 

The footage launched with Buzz’s spaceship taking a detour after detecting life forms on an uncharted planet and heading down to investigate. Buzz and two companions explore, come under attack and make a run for the ship, which ends up marooned without fuel. Fast-forward a year and after fixes for a test fight, Buzz launches. The ship veers off-course into deep space and returns four years later.

He feels responsible and keeps trying, losing four years each time, until higher-ups decide no more missions — they’re staying put. He disagrees. When they try to decommission his robot companion cat Socks, he steals a ship and is off … to we know where.

The clip Includes a shout-out to his iconic suit. “Respect the suit,” he tells a rookie, “It’s not just protecting the body, it’s protecting the universe.”

 

 

And last but not least, Disney showed the first sizzle from the new David O. Russell movie, which is now officially titled Amsterdam. The studio also released the first picture from the film, featuring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and an almost-unrecognizable John David Washington (see above). Here is Disney’s description of the project:

 

“CinemaCon attendees were treated to a sizzle reel of footage from the film, which is an original romantic crime epic about three close friends who find themselves at the center of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history. Based on facts that meet fiction, ‘Amsterdam’ stars Academy Award winner Christian Bale, two-time Oscar nominee Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Alessandro Nivola, Andrea Riseborough, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Taylor Swift, Timothy Olyphant, Zoe Saldana, with Oscar-winner Rami Malek and two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro. Written and directed by five-time Oscar nominee David O. Russell, the film is produced by Arnon Milchan, Matthew Budman, Anthony Katagas, David O. Russell and Christian Bale, with Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer and Sam Hanson serving as executive producers.”

 

Amsterdam will debut in theaters on November 4. Avatar: The Way of Water will premiere on December 16. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is coming out really soon, on May 6, while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will come out on November 11. And Lightyear launches on June 17.

 

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