If there’s one thing Disney knows how to do, it’s put on show. The various arms of Walt Disney Studios — including Disney Animation, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios — shared the giant spotlight at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday for a three-hour presentation to promote each of its upcoming films and television series. One of the marquee events of this year’s D23 Expo, the Disney Entertainment Showcase wowed its audience with trailers, first-look footage, concept art, musical performances, pyrotechnics and even an interactive magic trick.
Walt Disney Co.’s chief executive Bob Iger, noting it was his first D23 Expo in five years, received a rock star welcome as he took the stage to get the evening started. “I was going to say good evening and thank you for that warm welcome, but that was more than a warm welcome,” said Iger to the Disney faithful who greeted him with enthusiastic cheers and a standing ovation.
Among the filmmakers and actors tapped to tease their future projects were “Avatar’s” James Cameron, “Moana 2’s” Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, “Andor’s” Diego Luna, “Ironheart’s” Ryan Coogler, “Freaky Friday” duo Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan and “Tron’s“ Jeff Bridges. Here are the biggest takeaways from Disney’s studios showcase. Disney continues to dip into its vault Sequels, threequels and spinoffs seems to be the name of Disney’s current game.
The show kicked off with Cravalho performing “We.