Day two of the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California began with a look at what is up and coming in the world of live-action films from the Walt Disney Company. This includes the movies coming from Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. To say it was an exciting panel would be a major understatement. There are a lot of exciting movies coming! Here’s a look at what was covered during this panel.
A Wrinkle In Time
The first big announcement of the panel was A Wrinkle in time, hitting theaters March 9, 2018. Disney allowed guests at the expo to have a first look at the cast. The cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, and Storm Reid. The cast then took the stage to share some details from the film, such as the roles their characters will take, and how the movie will translate from the original novel. The cast then revealed the teaser poster for the film, that all guests in attendance to the panel received, and immediately after debuted the teaser for the feature.
Nutcracker and the Four Realms
The panel then released a teaser for the new Nutcracker live action film, saying that it’s the “tale you know has a dark side.” The film, which will hit theaters November 2018, will feature professional dancers such as Misty Copeland, or Lil Buck, who took to the stage on Saturday to display the dance styles that filmmakers used as inspiration for the mice.
Mary Poppins Returns
The sequel to the original Mary Poppins, hitting theaters Christmas 2018, will take place in the Great Depression Era in Great Britain, according to Sean Bailey. The cast will contain Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury, and Dick Van Dyke. They discussed the way Mary was portrayed in the book as vain and weird, and the way they hope to take Mary Poppins in that direction for the sequel. Most interestingly, Dick Van Dyke, who will be playing a bank manager, said it holds the same joy as the original film. Director Rob Marshall shared that Mary Poppins Returns was filmed on location, which made it feel true and more real for everyone involved. The audience was then treated with the global debut of a teaser for the upcoming feature, accompanied by a live Disney orchestra.
Aladdin
After many rumors about Aladdin’s casting issues, it appears they have been resolved. This morning it was announced that the cast of Aladdin will now include Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott will play Jasmine, and Will Smith will portray the Genie. The film is being directed by Guy Ritchie.
The Lion King
Disney is remaking The Lion King with Jon Favreau at the helm. Today at the D23 Expo a special teaser was shared to those in attendance. It was made specifically for this audience. The general consensus of those in attendance is that it is absolutely stunning! The clip showed The Circle of Life scene, now created in photo-realistic CGI. The Lion King will be released in 2019.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Star Wars: The Last Jedi is now in post-production it was announced today by director Ryan Johnson. During this segment cast members John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Train, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, and Mark Hamill all came on stage throughout this segment.
It was revealed that Finn will have a face off with Captain Phasma in The Last Jedi. Hamill said that this film is a “game changer.” What exactly that means probably won’t be discovered until the film hits theaters later this year. This portion of the panel ended with a behind the scenes look at Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Avengers: Infinity War
Kevin Feige took to the stage to share about Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War. He was joined by the cast of pretty much every movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This includes Tom Holland, recently off of Spider-Man: Homecoming and even Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr! To say this movie is going to be big would be a major understatement! A clip shown during the segment showed Thor meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s hard to believe that something could generate more buzz than Star Wars but this just might be it today.
There is a lot of news to cover from this panel. DAPs Magic will continue to share more on this event and the movies in it as we pull the details and stories together. What are you most excited about from this panel? Let us know in the comments below!
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