D23 Expo is the place to be this year! On the second day of the weekend-long convention, D23 hosted the highly anticipated Studio Showcase: Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios. Well, let’s just say that the three-hour-long show did not disappoint. From curveballs, musical numbers, and surprise celebrity appearances, this showcase had the undivided attention of people across the world. It revealed all the upcoming projects, shows, movies, and more that will be coming to these three powerhouses. Some of the world’s biggest fanatics are waiting patiently to see where some of these franchises are heading and in a convention as big as D23, the time is now.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
The hall was completely packed, front to back with fanatics and media alike, eyes bulging out of their heads with excitement and anticipation. Starting off strong, Lucasfilm led off, followed by Marvel, and finally, 20th Century Studios broke ground with the upcoming Avatar: The Way of Water. So much happened in this showcase, and we are here to help you keep track of it all. If you are overwhelmed by all the exciting news that came out at the showcase, this is your one-stop shop for all the highlights! Check it out.
Star Wars
Alyssa Gawaran
All theStar Wars fans were gearing up for this presentation, so it is a good thing that they were up first. The first reveal from the showcase stems back from the Rogue One story. Andor revealed its final and brand-new trailer for the 24-episode show at the showcase. The story will serve as a prequel to the events that occurred in Rogue One and will be streaming exclusively on Disney+. Also featured was the cast of Bad Batch announcing Season 2 and the cast of The Mandalorian of their third season. Bad Batch’s dual-episode premiere will be on January 4, 2023, and will have 16 episodes total, and anticipate the next season of The Mandalorian to start streaming in 2023 as well. In the realm of animation, the audience was excited to see a new trailer of the series Tales of the Jedi (six shorts: three Asoka, three Count Dooku) that will be streaming on Disney+ on October 26. Last but not least for us Star Wars fans, we were given our first look at Jude Law in Skeleton Crew, and let’s just say, fans were through the roof excited.
Indiana Jones
The Walt Disney Company
It does not stop there for Lucasfilm. We are granted the pleasure of seeing more footage from the brand new Indiana Jones movie, which has names like Steven Spielberg and John Williams attached to the highly anticipated fifth film. Also, the absolute LEGEND Harrison Ford graced the stage with costar and Fleabag actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Ford gave an emotional speech about his appreciation and admiration for this project that had the entire room on the brink of crying themselves. Obviously, the showcase could not possibly go on without them showing a new action-packed trailer. The movie will be coming on June 30, 2023.
WIillow
Disney+
Last but not least, Lucasfilm unveiled more on the second season of the fantasy show Willow. Willow is a story that chronicles the adventures of a group of young, diverse, and special heroes. The cast, including Warwick Davis, Erin Kellyman, and Ruby Cruz graced the stage at the D23 Expo to present a brand new trailer for the show. Season 2 of Willow is coming on November 30 on Disney+.
Intro: Rogers The Musical
Walt Disney Company
Marvel came next and, in true MCU fashion, they kicked things off with a bang…and a musical number? Kevin Feige came out to greet the crowd and then music starts blaring, people start singing, and the audience is fed a fully-choreographed musical dance number called “Rogers: The Musical!” This pretty much set the tone for the entire presentation moving forwards: loads of fun, excitement, and surprises.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
When the first teaser trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever came out, Marvel fans went absolutely wild and with the movie coming out in November this year, we were 100% anticipating a second trailer for the movie at D23. Well, we were right. The cast, including Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, and Winston Duke, came out to talk about the film and, of course, honor the late Chadwick Boseman, who was inducted as a Disney Legend in the opening D23 Expo ceremony on Friday. The new footage for the movie is, as of right now, not available and remains a D23 Expo exclusive, but keep your eyes and ears open for more on this upcoming film.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania:
Marvel Studios
ATTENTION! Paul Rudd is in the building! Yes, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has been on Marvel fans’ radars for a while now, and we are finally going to be rewarded. The MCU is going to get bigger and bigger now that the world is opening up to the Multiverse. However, there is almost no one else in the franchise more equipped to deal with his kind of thing than Scott Lang and his crew. At D23 this year, audiences were given a special new teaser for the movie that show Scott, Cassie, and the others getting sucked up into the Quantum Realm. The movie is coming February 27, 2023, and it’s time to strap in because this one is going to be one hell of a ride.
Thunderbolts and The Marvels
We are in a phase in the MCU where there are no Avengers. There isn’t any big team of superheroes that are banding together, until now. Well, The Thunderbolts aren’t necessarily heroes but more antiheroes. At the D23 Expo, we are introduced to the entire team which includes Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, U.S. Agent, Ghost, Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, Taskmaster, and Bucky Barnes. The cast was present for the presentations and Florence Pugh sent her own little message for fans and the cast since she could be in attendance. Also in the Marvel section of the showcase, audiences got to see more about The Marvels coming in July 2023. Fans were shown a special snippet from the movie and the cast was present as well.
Fantastic 4 / Captain America: New World Order
Now, we did not get more updates on the Fantastic 4 movie coming to the MCU. However, we do know that it will be kicking off Phase 6 so, keep a look-out for any plot or casting news. However, we did get to hear from the new Captain America, Sam Wilson! The upcoming cast of Captain America: New World Order, the next film in the Captain America franchise, was present or the presentation to express their excitement for the new movie. The movie has not begun filming so, we did not get any new footage.
Loki Season 2
Loki is one of the most successful spinoff shows that Marvel has ever produced and with that insane cliffhanger we got at the end of season 1, fans of the show are salivating for more. Tom Hiddleston and the rest of the cast of Loki made surprise appearances at D23 this year. They are in the middle of filming season 2, but came anyway to present some unseen footage of Loki back in the TVA. It was action-packed, mysterious, and funny. The Multiverse is a vast place and in a show like Loki, anything is possible.
Ironheart / Werewolf By Night
Marvel / Disney
Riri Williams will be starring in Ironheart, an upcoming show on DIsney+. Not only were audiences fed a fantastic sneak peek of the show, but the crowd went wild when Hamilton actor Anthony Ramos was revealed to be a character in the film and when he came out to join the rest of the cast on stage. Also, perfect timing for the Halloween season, Marvel is putting together the show Werewolf By Night and this one is definitely unlike anything we’ve seen before in this franchise. The style of this show touches on the classic monster horror film and feels undeniably vintage. If you are looking for a few fun scares from Marvel in the next few months, this one will be coming out on October 7, 2022.
Secret Invasion / Armor Wars
Don Cheadle’s War Machine is a force to be reckoned with. Audiences present at the Studio Showcase at D23 got a chilling trailer for Marvel’s Secret Invasion featuring a Nick Fury we have yet to see before. This series will be coming to Disney+. We were also given a few more details on Armor Wars, a six-part Disney+ series that will begin filming next year surrounding War Machine. If you are interested in theorizing what could come from these shows, the comic books might be a nice place to start.
Echo / Daredevil
The shows Echo and Daredevil were also announced at the showcase. Echo will follow Maya Lopez. We are given the trailer for the show, the cast was there, and we cannot be more excited to see this extremely talented and diverse cast hit our screens. Daredevil was also a highlight of this showcase. The show is still in the works, however, Marvel would never leave us empty-handed. Audiences were shown clip of Daredevil in a future episode of She Hulk.
Avatar
20th Century Studios did not have the bulk that Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios had, but boy, did they give audiences a treat. The upcoming Avatar: The Way of Water was the focus of their presentation. The long-awaited film released its first trailer a few months ago and people have been patiently waiting for more. At D23 Expo this year, the showcase turned the massive hall into a DOLBY theater. Staff handed out 3D glasses and guests were presented with around 15-20 minutes of exclusive footage of scenes from the stunning film. Now, that is how you get people excited about a movie!
