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D23 Expo Day 1 Recap: Live-Action Disney, Pixar, and Walt Disney Animation

by · September 10, 2022

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Day 1 of the D23 Expo was packed with surprises and updates on previously announced Disney projects, both animated and live-action. Here’s our full recap.

 

While 20th Century Studios, Marvel, and Lucasfilm’s panel — which will happen later today — is undoubtedly the main course of the weekend, Disney spared no expense with their starting D23 panel, focused on their main live-action and animated projects from Walt Disney Studios, Pixar, and Walt Disney Animation.

 

In spite of the ice-cold shoulder the live-action Pinocchio remake received on Thursday after its debut on Disney Plus, the event kicked off with a live performance of ‘Wish Upon a Star’ by Cynthia Erivo, who played the Blue Fairy in the film. After this and an introduction by Disney CEO Bob Chapek, previews, reveals, and updates started rolling in…

 

Up first, Hocus Pocus 2 unleashed a main trailer ahead of its September 30 debut on Disney Plus.

 

 

The chaotic preview arrived alongside a poster that promises “a wickedly glorious return” (but on the small screen):

 

Disney D23 - Hocus Pocus 2

 

Another sequel going straight to Disney’s streaming platform is Disenchanted, starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, Idina Menzel, and James Marsden. This one’s locked for November 24 and also debuted a meaty new trailer:

 

 

Of course, a poster also came alongside the trailer, sporting a rather ominous tagline:

 

Disney D23 - Disenchanted

 

Four upcoming live-action projects which are further away also received updates and hyped up their takes on renowned Disney properties.

 

Haunted Mansion, directed by Dear White People‘s Justin Simien, has added horror legend Jamie Lee Curtis to its already stacked cast, which includes Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Jared Leto, and Danny DeVito, among others. It’s currently set for a March 10, 2023, theatrical release. Check out its logo below:

 

Haunted Mansion logo

 

David Lowery’s Peter Pan and Wendy also got a brief update, confirming a release at some point in 2023 on Disney Plus. The cast is led by Alexander Molony, Ever Anderson, Yara Shahidi, and Jude Law.

 

Lowery’s live-action remake of Pete’s Dragon is still considered to this day one of Disney’s best “updates” of a classic property, and his more personal output (A Ghost Story, The Green Knight) is excellent stuff, so there’s good reason to be hopeful about this take on Never Land and its heroes.

 

Disney D23 - Peter Pan and Wendy poster

 

The Lion King prequel directed by Moonlight helmer Barry Jenkins now has a (very safe) title: Mufasa: The Lion King. It’s coming to theaters worldwide in 2024, and it will play like a huge flashback as told by Timon and Pumbaa after they find Simba.

 

Mufasa: The Lion King logo

 

Next came Marc Webb’s Snow White remake, starring West Side Story lead Rachel Zegler and Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot. The latter said about her role that playing the Evil Queen was “very different than what [she] had done before. [She is] used to playing the other end of where the heart should be.” No dwarfs this time around, by the way. It’ll be a theatrical 2024 release, though we don’t have a date yet.

 

Snow White logo

 

To cap off the live-action side of the panel, Disney released the first-ever look at next year’s The Little Mermaid remake, starring Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, and Javier Bardem. The film’s being directed by Disney veteran Rob Marshall and will feature four new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and original Little Mermaid composer Alan Menken. Watch the teaser below:

 

 

Moving on to Pixar’s section of the panel, fans got a first look at Elemental, which is coming to theaters on June 16, 2023. The film follows a fire woman and a water man who are in love, but can’t even touch. Yep, that sounds like an original Pixar feature to us.

 

 

And here’s the teaser poster, which gets its main point across quite clearly and in traditional Pixar fashion:

 

Disney D23 - Elemental poster

 

Pixar has also been hard at work on an all-original series for Disney Plus, titled Win or Lose. We knew about its existence from a previous event, but now we know it’s led by Will Forte playing a softball coach keeping a rag-tag team of misfits together in the run-up to a championship game. Each episode will have a different POV, each with its own animation style. It will arrive at some point in 2023.

 

 

If Elemental is Pixar’s big bet for 2023, then the first half of 2024 belongs to Elio, another original film. It follows “a boy who finds himself transported across the galaxy & mistaken for the intergalactic Ambassador for planet Earth.” Starring America Ferrera as Olga Solis and Yonas Kibreab as Elio, the film lands in spring 2024. Check out the first piece of official artwork below:

 

 

Despite all their recent all-new projects, the folks at Pixar haven’t forgotten about their beloved properties, and there’s a new sequel in town: Inside Out 2, which got leaked before D23 started, but still was one of the biggest reveals of the night. Right now, it’s set for a summer 2024 release, which seems a bit too close to Elio‘s proposed arrival, so we’ll see.

 

 

Enter Walt Disney Animation Studios, which has plenty of famous properties to choose from, but instead is focusing on kickstarting new ones (thank the Maker). However, they didn’t forget about Zootopia+ (coming in November to Disney Plus), a six-episode anthology series that follows various members of Zootopia. No word on whether Zootopia 2 will happen or not.

 

Zootopia+ banner

 

Perhaps one of the most interesting announcements of the night was Iwájú, a collaboration between Disney Animation and Kugali, a visual storytelling brand committed to telling stories inspired by African culture. Their all-original series debuts in 2023 on Disney Plus and depicts a futuristic version of Lagos, Nigeria.

 

 

It was reasonable to expect a new Strange World trailer from yesterday’s showcase, but only those in physical attendance got to see it. We learned a bit more about the film’s cast though: Jake Gyllenhaal is joined by Jaboukie Young-White, Lucy Liu, Dennis Quaid, Gabrielle Union, and Alan Tudyk. The film comes to theaters on November 23, so the new trailer should drop online very soon.

 

 

The final slot went to a new animated film that will celebrate Disney’s 100-year history. It’s titled Wish, and the story is about “how the iconic wishing star came to be,” whatever that means. Moreover, it was said there will be a mix of classic watercolor animation and CG imagery, which quite honestly sounds like the perfect way to honor a whole century of animated features. Disney shared more details, a logo, and a first piece of artwork, and promised a November 2023 release on Twitter:

 

 

If you’re at home, be sure to stay tuned for the big 20th Century Studios, Marvel, and Lucasfilm panel later today (as the announcements will be shared on social media as they come). We then will put together all the big reveals and previews for those who are enjoying the weekend away from the Internet or simply want a quick overview of the showcase.

 

UPDATE: You can now find a full recap of Day 2 with all the big reveals and updates over at Star Wars News Net, our sister site.

 

 

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