Disney’s D23 convention was filled with excitement as CEO Bob Iger took the stage to announce upcoming movies and television series. He emphasized the importance of entertainment in today’s world and teased new films in the “Avatar,” “Toy Story,” and “Incredibles” franchises.
One of the highlights of the evening was a surprise performance by Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, who reprised their roles as Moana and Maui from the beloved animated movie. They sang a song from the upcoming “Moana 2” and got the crowd of over 15,000 at the Honda Center on their feet.
Johnson, who has a personal connection to the film as his daughters were in the audience, expressed how special it was for him to work on the “Moana” films. The extended sneak peek of “Moana 2” introduced new characters and showcased the vibrant world of the movie.
In addition to “Moana 2,” Johnson announced his involvement in a live-action “Monster Jam” movie. However, there were no updates on the live-action “Moana” project that is currently in development.
The convention also featured updates on other highly anticipated films. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni teased the upcoming Star Wars film, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” which has just started filming. Jude Law announced “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew,” which will be coming to Disney+ in December.
Pixar Animation Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter announced that the studio is developing a third installment of “The Incredibles” franchise, as well as a new “Toy Story” film. He highlighted the theme of toys versus tech in the upcoming “Toy Story 5.” Jennifer Lee, the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, shared concept art from “Frozen III” and director James Cameron, along with actors Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington, gave updates on the third installment of “Avatar.”
Marvel also made a splash at the convention with Kevin Feige sharing information about upcoming series and films. Ryan Coogler discussed the upcoming series “Ironheart,” and there were sneak peeks of the Fantastic Four and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Feige also mentioned the success of “Deadpool” and thanked the fans for their support.
Music was a key focus of the convention, with new songs and performances from upcoming films. Lin-Manuel Miranda introduced a new song from “Mufasa: The Lion King,” and Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot shared a sneak peek of the live-action “Snow White” movie, which will feature new songs from Benji Pasek and Justin Paul. Kathryn Hahn performed a new song from her upcoming Marvel series “Agatha All Along.”
The convention ended with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsey Lohan announcing the official title for the “Freaky Friday” sequel, “Freakier Friday.” They shared the first images from the film and expressed their excitement to be working together again.
Overall, Disney’s D23 convention was a whirlwind of announcements and surprises, leaving fans eagerly anticipating the release of these highly anticipated movies and series.