Disney Deets: Magical Moments and Movie News from the D23 Expo 2024

D23 a.k.a. The Ultimate Disney Fan Event kicked off with the much anticipated “Disney Entertainment Showcase” and started off with a bang! The three-hour-long presentation revealed exclusive footage, concept reveals, and a first look into upcoming films and series Disney has been cooking up in the past few years. The biennial event presented by VISA was held at the Anaheim Convention Centre in California last August 9, 10, and 11.

Since the first event in 2009, D23 has offered Disney fans a one-of-a-kind experience showcasing the very best in creative storytelling and innovation across all the worlds of Disney.

So, buckle up Disney nerds, because we’re lining up some of the most magical moments at this year’s expo, showing that Disney continues to make infinite possibilities come true.

Exciting Sequel and Prequel Reveals

Disney revealed exciting follow-ups to some of their most popular franchises. From Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Studios to Marvel Studios and Disney Live Action, we got exclusive first looks at some iconic returns to the big screen and on Disney+.

Let’s start off with the unveiling of the next film in the Academy Award-winning franchise, Avatar. Get ready to journey back to Pandora in “Avatar: Fire & Ash,” coming to cinemas on Dec. 19, 2025. The movie stars some of the biggest names in Hollywood including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet.

Pixar Animation Studios’ Peter Docter put out some explosive reveals at this year’s expo including the concept art for the fifth installment of the classic “Toy Story.”

Not much was revealed about “Toy Story 5” but what we do know is that our beloved toys will face a new villain: electronics, as we see Bonnie under the covers with an iPad tablet in the first concept photo. The movie comes out summer of 2026 and is led by "WALL-E" and "Finding Nemo" director Andrew Stanton.

Also in the works is the exciting sequel to their Oscar-winning film, “Zootopia.” Ginnifer Goodwin, the voice actor for Judy Hopps, made the sequel announcement at the event and also revealed a first look and a new cast member: Ke Huy Quan, who is set to join the dynamic animal cast as Gary, the snake.

Peter also announced the third installment of Pixar’s favorite superhero family The Incredibles, which came as a wonderful surprise for fans.

Fans of “Frozen” should be thrilled to know that the possibility of a third movie is no longer unknown. Director Jennifer Lee revealed the first concept art for “Frozen 3” and how the team decided to pursue a third film in the franchise to answer the many questions fans were left with after the sequel. We definitely want to know where Elsa’s powers came from! Fans can expect to see it in theatres in 2027.

And speaking of “Frozen,” for the first time in forever the hit musical, filmed LIVE onstage, is coming to Disney+ in 2025! West End’s Samantha Barks came up on stage to perform the iconic “Let it Go” and will be starring as Queen Elsa in the live musical film.

This will hopefully be followed by “Hercules,” which is slated to run at London’s West End next summer and was recently announced to be the featured theatre production on the Disney Destiny which starts sailing in November 2025.

Disney Broadway also revealed their plans for a new stage musical based on the 2019 hit movie, “The Greatest Showman,” starring Hugh Jackman, Zack Efron, and Zendaya.

Additionally, Disney Branded Television, Disney Concerts, Disney Music Group, and AEG jointly announced an upcoming live tour featuring mega-hit franchises “Descendants” and “Zombies.” Get ready to see two worlds collide as the cast hits the road to perform at the “Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour” in Summer 2025!

The cast of "Descendants: Rise of Red" performed a spectacular number featuring a medley of songs featured in the film.

Moving over to the live-action side, we have “Freakier Friday,” sequel to the 2003 movie, “Freaky Friday” starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. The onscreen mother-daughter duo also revealed some exciting new photos from the film slated to be released next year.

Dwayne Johnson and Alan Bergman were also present at D23 to announce a new movie in the works about monster trucks. Dwayne is set to produce via his Seven Bucks Productions.

The showcase ended with a full trailer of their much-awaited live-action prequel, “Mufasa: The Lion King” which follows the early friendship of Mufasa and Scar — who was then known as his stepbrother, Taka. The movie comes out on Dec. 20, 2024.

First Look, Trailers, and Exclusive Footages

Fans know best and D23 makes sure that the fans get the first look in all their upcoming films and series. Here are some of the highlights!

First up is the trailer for “Moana 2,” which revealed another action-packed adventure as Moana, now the leader of her tribe, faces a new stormy threat. Familiar characters are set to return such as her animal sidekicks, Pua and HeiHei, and the demigod, Maui. The movie set sails on Nov. 27, 2024.

Speaking of Demigods, “The Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series dropped a season 2 teaser which will be based on the sophomore book in the series by Rick Riordan, “The Sea of Monsters.” No specific release date has been announced apart from it being available in 2025 on Disney+, but there is a roster of new faces joining the dynamic Olympians revealed at their D23 panel and on their official Instagram page.

Pixar is teeming with excitement as they revealed a bunch of new films following the success of “Inside Out 2,” which recently became the number-one animated film of all time! From this, they revealed an upcoming Disney+ series, “Dream Productions” inspired by the studio inside Riley’s mind. The show is set to be released in 2025.

The studio will also release two feature films: “Elio,” following the story of a space fanatic with an active imagination, and “Hoppers,” which features Mabel who seizes an opportunity to use new technology to ‘hop’ her consciousness into a life-like robotic animal: an adorable beaver. The films are slated for June 13, 2025, and 2026, respectively.

But don’t worry, Pixar is giving us something to look forward to this year! Their first original series “Win or Lose” arrives on Disney+ on Dec. 6.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige took the stage at D23 to announce some marvelous news in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). As if their explosive reveals at the San Diego Comic-Con weren’t already amazing, they continued to excite fans with a lineup of exclusive first looks and cast reveals.

Marvel started off strong by teasing Sam Wilson’s new adventure and together with Anthony Mackie, who’s making his big-screen debut as Captain America, provided exclusive footage for the upcoming film, “Captain America: Brave New World” coming Valentine's Day 2025.

Next up is a sneak preview of “The Fantastic Four: Four Steps,” coming to theatres on July 25, 2025. Kevin also dropped an exclusive footage of the upcoming Disney+ series, “Ironheart,” following the story of Riri Williams played by Dominique Thorne, whom we first saw in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

The stars of “Daredevil: Born Again” took to the D23 stage for the footage reveal of their upcoming Disney+ series in 2025, while the cast of “Agatha All Along” graced the stage in robes and performed the hair-rising original song, “The Ballad of Witches’ Road," before closing the MCU’s iconic lineup with a new trailer for the witchy series. It arrives on Disney+ with a two-episode premiere this Sept. 18.

“Stars Wars: Skeleton Crew” starring Jude Law revealed a first teaser and December release date. Live-action Star Wars is set to return to the streaming service on Dec. 3 with a two-episode premiere. More from the franchise is “Andor” which revealed a special season 2 footage; and a sneak peek of the upcoming film, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” coming to theatres May 22, 2026.

Wait, there’s more!

Whether you’re a fan or not, Disney dropped some exciting first looks on their upcoming live-action remakes including our favorite alien who made a chaotic entrance to the D23 stage, showcasing his blue fur and familiar laugh. The live-action “Lilo and Stitch” arrives Summer 2026.

The OG Disney Princess finally gets her own remake as D23 gave us the first trailer for the live-action “Snow White” featuring iconic scenes from Disney’s very first animated feature film against the familiar tune of “Whistle While You Work.” The trailer was presented by Rachel Zegler who plays the titular role and Wonder Woman Gal Gadot, who portrays the Evil Queen. We’ll find out who’s truly the fairest of them all come Mar. 21, 2025.

One of Disney’s oldest franchises was revealed to have an upcoming film! We’ll experience “Tron: Ares” next year, which will include a soundtrack composed by Nine Inch Nails.

National Geographic also released a first look at the upcoming series, “David Blaine: Do Not Attempt,” coming to National Geographic and Disney+ next year.

Unveiling New Lands and Experiences at Disney Parks & Cruise Line

D23 had exciting news on Disney parks and cruise line on the “Horizons: Disney Experiences Showcase” where we caught all the latest details on park expansions and attractions recreating the most magical experiences from its films and TV shows.

Probably the most talked about news is the announcement of “Villains Land” which will take root in Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The Imagineers unveiled the first concept art which featured dark rides, moats, and Maleficent’s Forbidden Mountain. Disney Experiences Chairman Josh D’Amaro provided no date for when it might open but promised, “Plans are drawn. Dirt is moving.”

A new section of Frontierland will also be reimagined with Cars and will have two net attractions geared towards younger guests. A new nighttime parade called “Disney Starlight” will be dancing its way through Main Street USA summer of 2025.

A new Spider-Man attraction is coming to Hong Kong Disneyland’s Stark Expo, while Shanghai Disneyland will be getting a thrilling new rollercoaster ride inspired by our friendly neighborhood superhero.

Tokyo Disney Resort will be revealing a new nighttime spectacular called “Reach for the Stars” on Sept. 20 at Tokyo Disneyland Park. Recently, Tokyo Disney Sea opened “Fantasy Springs” which featured attractions from “Peter Pan,” “Tangled,” and “Frozen.”

For other exciting park announcements, click here.

Disney Cruise Line currently has five ships sailing across the globe including Disney Adventure which will set sail from Singapore next year and a Japan-based ship on the way. Disney Destiny was also revealed recently which will feature Disney, Pixar, and Marvel heroes and villains among its facilities and recreation offers.

Josh revealed that there are four other ships in development, and with their completion, we’ll have a total of 13 ships spreading Disney magic across the seas.

To know more about the announcements from the weekend, follow DisneyD23 on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.