Disney Highlights ‘Elemental’, ‘Indiana Jones 5’, ‘The Creator’, and More at CinemaCon Presentation
Disney took the CinemaCon stage on Wednesday to preview their entire slate of 2023 films, in an interesting timing, as they just began their second wave of layoffs this week. Alan Bergman, co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment hosted a presentation that highlighted the studio’s commitment to the theatrical model, at least as a partner to Disney Plus.
Said Bergman:
“I wanted to personally thank you for your support. It’s so gratifying to see the business coming back.
Thank you for the success of ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’.”
Disney kicks off the presentation with a new look at Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and replays the trailer for The Marvels
The next film from Disney is James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which showed off a clip with Peter Quill and Gamora in outer space, inside the astronaut suits we’ve seen in the trailers. It’s an extended version of this scene that was released online a few days ago:
Marvel Studios’ next film after Guardians is Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels, which released its first teaser trailer online a few weeks ago, and they replayed it in the room.
The Little Mermaid brings music to CinemaCon
According to Deadline, the upcoming live-action remake starring Halle Bailey was featured during the presentation as Melissa McCarthy came out on stage to introduce a clip of Ursula singing “Poor Unfortunate Souls”. Said McCarthy:
“Did someone say my name .. I had something in my throat. It was an honor to play one of Disney’s most delicious and iconic villains. You can’t help but love her.”
Ursula is everything — she’s dishy, she’s a conniving broad, maybe that’s why I relate to her.”
Pixar shows off the first 20 minutes of Elemental
Pixar’s upcoming film, Elemental, will be released in June, but the studio was able to show the first 20 minutes of the film, which Deadline described the following way:
The clip sees immigrant fire-couple Bernie and Cinder’s tough welcome in Elemental City, where they make a life with baby Ember — trying to connect, and avoid water. In addition, Fire, Earth, Water and Air creatures arrive at a sort of Ellis Island entryway to Element City, where notably the fire duo have a hard time making themselves understood and see their passport stamped with the names Bernie and Cinder.
The Fire folks open a shop and raise their daughter Ember. When Water creatures come to visit, the sign in the shop reads goes, “You splash it, you buy it.” A bridge divides the Fire neighborhood from the rest of the city, which Ember says isn’t hospitable for the Fire folks, “Elements don’t mix.” Things do not go as hoped, and Ember’s temper gets the better of her, causing the storeroom to flood and a Water guy who’s a city inspector floats in threatening to give the shop a citation for shoddy pipes. This sets Ember on a journey into Element City and in pursuit of the inspector. A subway ride proves challenging as she tries not to incinerate the other passengers and ends up in a showdown in front of City Hall.
The film hasn’t exactly wowed with its promos so far, but early buzz points to Pixar having another winner up their sleeve. We will have to wait a couple more months, as the film opens on June 16. It will also close off the Cannes Film Festival next month.
Disney also brought a new look at Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Harrison Ford, who will be saying goodbye to the iconic character this summer, sent in a video that was played during the Disney presentation to introduce an extended clip from the upcoming film. Said Ford:
“Hello CinemaCon! Playing Indiana Jones all these years has meant the world to me. (The movies) have adventure and heart — and for some reason snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?
We are all excited for everyone to experience our film on the biggest and best screens.”
Early buzz around the film is fantastic; apparently, Steven Spielberg even said of his experience watching it for the first time: “When the lights came up I just turned to the group and said, ‘Damn! I thought I was the only one who knew how to make one of these.” Here is the description of the footage, per Deadline:
In the extended and exclusive clip shown in the room today, Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge trade barbs on a high-speed chase as they careen through crowded stone backstreets (also somewhat reminiscent of Raiders). “I’m a not a grave robber!” the iconic archaeologist exclaims, “I was doing important work with your father.”
Haunted Mansion also brought new footage
The next Disney film in the 2023 schedule is Justin Simien’s Haunted Mansion, starring Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, and more. Here is Discussing Film‘s description of the footage:
The footage kicks off with a montage narrated by Danny DeVito’s character, showcasing all the different ghastly corners of the mansion and photographs of the possible doomed souls who reside within its wall. DeVito’s narration gives some origin to the mansion itself, which further gives this adaptation its own unique story.
After the main ensemble, featuring LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, and Rosario Dawson, discover a hidden seance room in the mansion, we get a montage that introduces each of them and their roles in the film. LaKeith Stanfield plays the hero type, Danny DeVito plays an academic professor who’s been trying to get into the mansion for decades, and Owen Wilson plays the priest in the group.
Disney debuts the first trailer for A Haunting in Venice
This is Kenneth Branagh’s third Hercules Poirot film, which came off as a bit of a surprise when it was announced last year considering the last one, Death on the Nile, came and went unnoticed at the box office. Nevertheless, 20th Century Studios decided to make yet another one, which stars Branagh, Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Michelle Yeoh.
Check it out here:
The film opens in theaters on September 15, and there’s some talk about it potentially screening at the Venice Film Festival shortly before that.
The Creator is the latest film from Rogue One director Gareth Edwards
Where has Gareth Edwards been since December 2016? Well, we don’t know, but we might get an idea soon. His latest film was previously billed True Love, but for obvious reasons, it’s being retitled as The Creator — after all, this is no rom-com. It’s a pure science-fiction film starring John David Washington and Gemma Chan about half-humans, half-androids that, according to Deadline, will make Blade Runner look like a child’s play in production design.
Above the Line said it was the film that hijacked the post-presentation talk at the convention; it will focus on the relation between humans and AI, a very relevant topic in the current landscape as ChatGPT plots its conquest of the world. The film opens in theaters on September 29, moving ahead one week.
The first trailer for Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins was finally released
After sitting on the shelf for a couple of years, and even reshooting parts of it to replace Armie Hammer with Will Arnett, 20th Century Studios finally released the first trailer for the new film by Taika Waititi. Starring Michael Fassbender and Elizabeth Moss, the film tells the true story of the football/soccer team from American Samoa who set out to score just one goal in any of their matches, after lining up an unprecedented string of losses.
Check out the hilarious first teaser here:
Wish stars Chris Pine as a Disney King
While the latest from Disney Animation Studios was highlighted towards the end of the panel, we are keeping some sort of release order here. Wish was officially announced at D23 last September, and it will finally, after all of these years of audiences wondering about it, bring to life the star that all of those Disney characters wish upon.
Pine will play King Magnifico, the ruler of Rosas, a kingdom where wishes do come true. Said Jennifer Lee, executive producer and co-writer on Wish:
“As the most powerful person in the kingdom, King Magnifico needed to be played by someone who could give all the charm, cleverness and charisma to this magnanimous character, and Chris is beautifully bringing all of that and then some,”
RULER OF ROSAS – Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Wish” is set in Rosas, a magical kingdom where wishes really do come true. The ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico, is the sole keeper of hundreds of wishes entrusted to him by people from all over the world. Featuring the voice Chris Pine as Magnifico, the all-new musical-comedy is helmed by Oscar®-winning director Chris Buck (“Frozen,” “Frozen 2”) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (“Raya and the Last Dragon”), produced by Peter Del Vecho (“Frozen,” “Frozen 2”) and co-produced by Juan Pablo Reyes (“Encanto”). “Wish” opens only in theaters on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.
Here is the official synopsis for the film:
“Wish” introduces Asha, a sharp-witted idealist who makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star set out to prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen. Also featuring the voice of Alan Tudyk as Asha’s favorite goat, Valentino, the film is helmed by Oscar-winning director Chris Buck (“Frozen,” “Frozen 2”) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (“Raya and the Last Dragon”).
Wish opens in theaters on November 22.
The only Disney film from this year that wasn’t mentioned here is The Boogeyman, which opens in early June; that’s because Disney held a screening of the full movie right after the panel ended. Reactions and reviews remain under embargo, though.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
