The largest Disney fan event in the world, D23 Expo, recently ended, and the Walt Disney Company unveiled some exciting news.
Everything from Marvel to Pixar was recognized, and the company gave some insight into its future plans for film, television, theme parks, products, online content, music, live entertainment and more. 2019 marked the sixth biennial Expo held in Anaheim, California. For those who missed the Expo or all of its announcements, here is a list of the top announcements from the Expo:
Disney attractions, rides and more around the world:
Epcot
The park is undergoing renovation, and will contain four new neighborhoods: World Discovery, World Showcase, World Celebration and World Nature.
World Showcase will continue to feature culture, cuisine, architecture and traditions, but there will be new features such as a Mary Poppins attraction in the United Kingdom pavilion, a Beauty and the Beast sing-along and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in the France pavilion, and a 360-degree Wondrous China experience coming to the China pavilion.
World Celebration is meant to connect our world with other worlds, and will include new narration and score for the Spaceship Earth ride, a new live events pavilion serving as the home base for the Epcot festivals, and the Epcot park entrance will be revamped.
World Nature is about understanding and preserving the beauty, awe and balance of the natural world, and will include The Land and The Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilions. The neighborhood will also include a new Moana attraction.
World Discovery is about science, technology and intergalactic adventures, so there will be a new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction with a planetarium-esque exhibition that leads to a 360-degree coaster. The Mission: SPACE pavilion will expand and a new PLAY! pavilion will include games and activities that are both real and virtual.
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
Disney is bringing an immersive, two-night hotel to the table with Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. Guests can interact with characters and participate in immersive experiences while they take a journey on the starcruiser called the Halcyon.
Avengers Campus
Disney launched the Marvel-themed land last year, but it’s being revamped as Avengers Campus, and it will have some new attractions. The superhero-themed land will feature Disney’s first ride-through Spider-Man attraction, as well as a new ride that lets visitors ride onboard a Quinjet and fly with the Avengers in an epic adventure to Wakanda and beyond.
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
This is Disney’s first major Mickey-themed ride-through attraction, and it’s coming to Disneyland in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. Through an original story and a beloved theme song, the ride will use state of the art technologies and dazzling visual effects to transform the cartoon world into an immersive multidimensional experience.
Hong Kong Disneyland transformation
Disney is revamping the park’s castle, which will turn into the Castle of Magical Dreams. There will also be two new Frozen themed attractions, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs and Frozen Ever After.
New Disney cruise line ship
The Rapunzel-themed Disney Wish is Disney’s fifth ship, and it will set sail in January 2022. The cruise line will add a second destination in the Bahamas called Lighthouse Point on the island of Eleuthera.
New Disneyland parade
In 2020, Disneyland will feature a new parade called Magic Happens, which will feature new characters from films such as Moana, Coco and Sleeping Beauty. In addition to the typical Disney parade music, singer-songwriter Todrick Hall will contribute an original song to help score the parade.
Disney Movies:
New Frozen 2 cast additions
Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K. Brown have joined the cast of Frozen 2. Wood will play Anna and Elsa’s mother ,Queen Iduna. Brown will play Lieutenant Matthias. In addition to the new cast, Disney also dropped a new poster for the film, which is set to be released Nov. 22, 2019.
‘Raya and the Last Dragon’
The forthcoming film is inspired by the culture of Southeast Asia. Cassie Steele and Awkwafina are set to star in the film. Steele will voice Raya and Awkwafina will voice Sisu the dragon. The film is set to hit theaters in November 2020.
New poster for Onward
Pixar has released short teasers for the upcoming film, Onward, which is set to release on March 6, 2020. Disney released a new poster for the film, which features Tom Holland and Chris Pratt who voice teenage elf brothers Ian and Barley. The two characters will set out on a quest to discover if there’s still magic in the world.
Soul
Pixar’s upcoming film Soul, will feature Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey as the leads. Foxx will voice the lead character, Joe, a jazz musician and middle school band teacher. Fey’s character has not been announced. Daveed Diggs, Phylicia Rashad and Questlove also are part of the cast, and the film will feature music from Jon Batiste and a score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
New poster from Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
The sequel to Maleficent is set to premiere on Oct. 18. Disney dropped new artwork showing Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer and the rest of the cast.
First look at Cruella
Disney dropped the first look at Cruella, a film focusing on the popular 101 Dalmatians villain, Cruella de Vil. Emma Stone takes the lead as Cruella, and the film will also star Emma Thompson, Paul Walter Hauser and Joel Fry. The film’s release date is May 28, 2021.
Black Panther sequel release date
Marvel president Kevin Feige and director Ryan Coogler announced the sequel to Marvel’s 2018 film Black Panther will hit theaters May 6, 2022. The first Black Panther film was the first Marvel movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
Special look at ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’
Disney released a special look at the latest installment of the Star Wars franchise. Episode IX will continue the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Finn (John Boyega) and many others. The film is set to release on Dec. 20.
Disney+ content
Disney’s new streaming service is releasing a lot of exclusive content to its subscribers, such as Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe and Pixar’s newest collection of shorts entitled Forky Asks A Question.
Disney+ is also working on other projects, including High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian and the continuation of The Clone Wars, the re-imagining of Lady and the Tramp, Encore!, Noelle, One Day at Disney documentary series and National Geographic’s The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
Marvel is also producing new content for Disney+, including SHE-HULK, Ms. Marvel and Moon Knight. The Muppets will also debut MUPPETS NOW.
Hilary Duff will also return to her popular role of Lizzie McGuire in the new Lizzie McGuire spinoff. She is expected to play an older and wiser version of Lizzie, and it is unknown if other original cast members will sign on for the project.
