Disney Reveals News on their Biggest Films at D23 Expo!

After a year without a proper convention, the D23 Expo has returned in full force with a 3-day event occurring in Anaheim, California. Yesterday evening, the massive Walt Disney Studios Showcase panel revealed news for some of the studio’s biggest titles across all departments. Here are the most important highlights from yesterday’s panel:

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS

The event kicked off with a trailer reveal for Moana 2. Directed by David Derrick, Jr, Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, the movie will see Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson reprise their respective roles as Moana and Maui. Temuera Morrison, Rachel House, Nicole Scherzinger, and Alan Tudyk round up the cast, with the movie slated to release on November 27. Watch the new trailer below:

Johnson also revealed that he is currently developing a live-action Monster Truck movie titled Monster Jam, which is being envisioned for a theatrical release.

Disney also revealed details on Zootopia 2, which will release in November 2025. Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman will reprise their respective roles as Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, while Academy Award-winning actor Ke Huy Quan joins the cast as a fugitive snake named Gary in a film directed by Jared Bush. The official plot synopsis is below:

“Detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde find themselves on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile who arrives in Zootopia and turns the mammal metropolis upside down. To crack the case, Judy and Nick must go undercover to unexpected new parts of town, where their growing partnership is tested like never before.”

Frozen 3 was also formally announced and will be directed by Jennifer Lee. While not much was revealed, it is now known the movie will be a two-parter, with the first part released in cinemas in 2027.

20th CENTURY STUDIOS

The official title for James Cameron‘s Avatar 3 was also announced and will be called Avatar: Fire and Ash. Sam Worthington will reprise his role as Jake Sully alongside Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Oona Chaplin, Jack Champion, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, and Bailey Bass. Check out the logo below and see the film in theatres on December 19, 2025:

PIXAR

Pixar also revealed a slew of announcements at their portion of the panel, with an official release date for their first full-length animated series, Win or Lose, as the first. The show will be released on December 6 on Disney+ and will reveal “what it feels like to be in the shoes of eight different characters—the insecure kids, their helicopter parents, even a lovesick umpire—as they prepare for a championship softball game.” Will Forte stars in the series directed by Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates. Watch the release announcement below:

Another Disney+ show was formally announced. It will be a spinoff of the popular Inside Out series. Titled Dream Productions, the show will focus on the studio inside Riley’s mind, where dreams come to life. The series is written and directed by Mike Jones and will star Richard Ayoade, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Alli Maki, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black, and Phyllis Smith. It is slated to release on the streaming service sometime in 2025.

More information on Pixar’s upcoming film, Elio, was also revealed. Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina, the movie will follow Elio, “a space fanatic with an active imagination, who gets beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization that mistakes him for Earth’s leader.” Yonas Kiberab will voice the titular character alongside Zoe Saldaña, Brad Garrett, and Jameela Jamil, rounding up the cast. The film will open in theatres on June 13, 2025.

Pixar also announced a brand-new original animated film titled Hoppers. The film focuses on “Mabel, an animal lover who seizes an opportunity to use new technology to ‘hop’ her consciousness into a life-like robotic animal: an adorable beaver.” Daniel Chong directed the film, which will be released in theatres in 2026 and will star Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, and Jon Hamm.

Toy Story 5 is also officially in the works, with Andrew Stanton directing. The movie will focus on the advancement of technology, as “Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest of the gang’s jobs get exponentially harder as they go head to head with this all-new threat to playtime.” The film will release in theatres on June 19, 2026. Check out the announcement teaser below:

Pixar also blew the roof off the Honda Center when they announced that Incredibles 3 is officially in development! Brad Bird will return in the director’s chair, and a logo was shared, which you can look at below:

LUCASFILM

Jude Law was first to hit up the stage at the Lucasfilm portion of the panel with the reveal of the official trailer for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew! Directed by Jon Watts, Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, David Lowery, Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Lee Isaac Chung, the show will star Law, Kerry Condon, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, Tunde Adebimpe, and Nick Frost. The first two episodes of the series will premiere on December 3 on Disney+, and you can watch the official trailer below:

More details were revealed for the upcoming season of Andor, which will be directed by Ariel Kleiman, Janus Metz Pedersen, and Alonso Ruizpalacios. Diego Luna will reprise his role as Cassian Andor alongside Stellan Skarsgard, Genevieve O’Reilly, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, Forest Whitaker, and Denise Gough. Joining the cast for this season is Ben Mendelsohn who will reprise his role as Orson Krennic, and Alan Tudyk as K-2SO. No specific release date was announced, but the show will premiere sometime in 2025.

Production on The Mandalorian & Grogu has officially begun! Jon Favreau is directing the film, and Pedro Pascal will reprise his role as Din Djarin. The teaser footage shown at D23 Expo confirmed the return of fan favorites Zeb Orrelios and Babu Frik! While not much has been revealed outside the D23 stage, we do know that the movie will be the first theatrical Star Wars production since The Rise of Skywalker and will be released in cinemas on May 22, 2026.

MARVEL STUDIOS

The latest trailer for Agatha All Along is here! Directed by Jac Schaeffer, Rachel Goldberg and Gandja Montiero, the show will star Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza, Patti LuPone, Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn and Debra Jo Rupp and premiere with its first two episodes on September 18. Watch it below:

A new look at Captain America: Brave New World was also shown exclusively for attendees, which will hit theatres on February 14, 2025. Julius Onah directs, with Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson and Harrison Ford comprising the cast. Academy Award-nominated composer Laura Karpman has also revealed that she will be composing the score for the movie, making it her fifth contribution to the MCU!

The first trailer for Daredevil: Born Again also premiered at D23, with a confirmed release window of March 2025! Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and David Boyd are directing, with Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jon Bernthal, Elden Henson, and Deborah Ann Woll all confirmed to return as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, Frank Castle/The Punisher, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. The Newton Brothers, who previously worked on X-Men ’97, have confirmed that they will be scoring the nine-episode-long series, with Season 2 beginning production later this year.

A new look at The Fantastic Four: First Steps was also shared among attendees, as production is currently underway! Matt Shakman directs, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach all starring as a member of Marvel’s first family. Michael Giacchino, who was revealed to be the composer for the film at Comic-Con, shared a sample of the theme during a panel, and it probably sounds as amazing as his other compositions.

Finally, a trailer for Ironheart was also released for attendees. Directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes, the show is set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and sees “Riri Williams —a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world—return to her hometown of Chicago. Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka The Hood.” Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos, Lyric Ross, Regan Aliyah, and Alden Ehrenreich will star, with the show set to premiere in 2025 on Disney+.

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES

A teaser for the upcoming season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was released, marking the start of production for a 2025 release. The show will adapt the second book in Rick Riordan‘s series, titled Sea of Monsters. Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri will reprise their respective roles as Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood. Check out the teaser below:

A new trailer for Barry Jenkins‘ Mufasa: The Lion King was released, with the movie bowing out in cinemas on December 20. Starring Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Theo Somolu, Braelyn Rankins, Anika Noni Rose, John Kani, Tiffany Boone, Kagiso Lediga, Preston Nyman, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Keith David, Donald Glover, Blue Ivy Carter, Folake Olowofoyeku, Joanna Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, Abdul Salis, Dominique Jennings and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, the movie will chronicle Mufasa as a young cub and lion, who develops a friendship with a sympathetic lion named Taka. Check out the trailer below:

A first trailer for Marc Webb’s Snow White remake was also released. Starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, the upcoming live-action remake will hit cinemas on March 21. Check out the teaser below:

A new logo was also released for Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, which is directed by Dean Flesicher-Camp. Not only that, but the film is moving from a Disney+ exclusive to a full-fledged theatrical release and will bow out next summer. Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Chris Sanders, Courtney B. Vance, and Zach Galifianakis star in the film, and a first look at the logo can be viewed below:

More details on TRON: Ares were announced, which is directed by Joachim Rønning and will star Jeff Bridges, Jared Leto, Greta Lee, and Evan Peters. With TRON: Legacy‘s soundtrack being so iconic, one wonders exactly who will fill in the shoes of Daft Punk for the sequel. Well, look no further than Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of…Nine Inch Nails! The trailer for the movie was also shown to D23 attendees, and the sequel is expected to be released on October 10, 2025.

To finish, Disney revealed more details on their upcoming Freaky Friday sequel, which is now called Freakier Friday. Nisha Ganatra is helming the project, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan returning as Tess and Anna. Mark Harmon, Manny Jacinto, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Haley Hudson, Lucille Soong, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rosalind Chao also star in the film. The plot synopsis can be read below:

“The new film picks up years after Curtis and Lohan’s characters, Tess and Anna, first endured an identity crisis: Anna has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter. As they navigate challenges that come when two families merge, they discover that lightning might indeed strike twice.”

Source: Disney (press release)