ANAHEIM, California – In a rousing presentation, Disney gave a taste of upcoming films and television series such as “Moana 2” with previews, live performances and surprise appearances by actors such as Dwayne Johnson, Zoe Saldaña and Jude Law.
Fans at Disney’s D23 convention greeted CEO Bob Iger with a standing ovation at the top of the presentation on Friday, where he said he couldn’t wait to give a glimpse of their upcoming projects.
“The world needs to be entertained perhaps more than ever before, and we take that responsibility seriously,” he said before presentations unveiled new films in the “Avatar,” “Toy Story” and “The Incredibles” franchises.
As the first surprise of the evening, Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson from “Moana” thrilled the more than 15,000 spectators at the Honda Center with a performance of a song that featured drummers and dancers in costumes in the style of the popular cartoon.
Disney then released the film’s first full trailer online. The footage introduces new (Moana has a little sister) and familiar characters, such as her pet pig Pua and the Kakamora, a band of arrow-blowing, coconut-clad pirates.
Both actors reprise their roles as Moana and Maui in “Moana 2,” which hits theaters on Nov. 27. Before giving an extensive preview of the film, Johnson said working on the movies was special for him, noting that his daughters, who are 6 and 8, were in the audience.
Johnson also announced that he would continue his long-standing work on Disney projects to direct a live-action “Monster Jam” film. The studio did not provide any news on Johnson’s other Disney project, the in-development live-action “Moana.”
Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni announced the Star Wars film “The Mandalorian” to be released in May 2026 and Grogu,” which only recently began filming. Favreau said he felt compelled to “put something together” for the presentation, showing a short clip of the title characters, as he put it, “on a whole new journey.”
Law spoke about “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” and announced that the film will be released on Disney+ on December 3rd.
“I fell in love with ‘Star Wars’ as a 10-year-old boy,” Law said before showing footage from the show, which was billed as a coming-of-age story.
Pete Docter, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar Animation, announced that the studio is developing a third installment in the “Incredibles” series.
Andrew Stanton, who directed the first two “Toy Story” films, has returned to star in “Toy Story 5.”
Stanton said the battle that Woody, Buzz and the rest of the crew face in this film is a battle between toys and technology, noting that kids today often choose gadgets over classic toys. The film is scheduled to hit theaters in summer 2026.
Jennifer Lee, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, has released concept art for Frozen III, showing Anna, Elsa and Olaf looking toward the horizon while a menacing creature lurks close behind them. The film will be released in 2027.
Director James Cameron and actors Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington returned to the stage to share new information about the third installment of “Avatar.” They announced the official title “Avatar: Fire and Ashes” and showed concept art that provides new insights into Pandora. Cameron said the film is still too early in the production phase to show clips.
“The new movie is not what you expect, but it’s definitely what you want,” said Cameron, who will be awarded “Disney Legend” status at a ceremony marking the closing of D23 on Sunday.
Fans also got an exclusive look at Zootopia 2, which will be released in November 2025. The film’s star, Ginnifer Goodwin, also announced that Ke Huy Quan will join the cast of Zootopia 2 as Snake.
Following the flood of announcements from Marvel at Comic-Con International, Marvel President Kevin Feige came out after a welcoming video from “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds in which he thanked the crowd for their support of the box office record-holder “Deadpool.” and Wolverine.”
Ryan Coogler, the director of the “Black Panther” films, joined Feige in sharing information about the upcoming series “Ironheart,” starring Dominique Thorne and Anthony Ramos. Throne, Ramos and other cast members took the stage to give a first look at the series, which follows Thorne’s character Riri Williams, who was first introduced in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Feige also talked about “Marvel’s first family,” the Fantastic Four. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach greeted the audience in a short video clip in their costumes from the set in the UK, where filming began late last month. Before showing a short snippet of pre-production clips, Feige said they had adopted the retro 1960s style for the film’s aesthetic.
Docter also announced a Pixar original movie called “Hoppers” starring Bobby Moynihan and Jon Hamm and gave exclusive sneak peeks at the upcoming film “Elio.” The young star of “Elio,” Yonas Kibreab, brought Saldaña back to the stage and announced her as the lead actress, joining America Ferrera and Jameela Jamil in the cast. The film will be released on June 13, 2025.
Pixar will also have two new series on Disney+ for the first time. Following the record-breaking success of “Inside Out 2,” the studio is creating “Dream Productions,” a show set between “Inside Out” and “Inside Out 2” that will stream on Disney+ in 2025. “Win or Lose,” Pixar’s first long-form series, will debut on Disney+ on December 6.
