My Top 5 D23 Expo Announcements

Hey there! I know that this particular blog post is coming out very late, and I do apologize for that. I have been hit with some challenges in my life recently besides still trying to find a job. My grandma unfortunately passed away at the beginning of this month, and I had to deal with another personal matter that I won’t share on this blog until a later date. A few weeks ago, Disney had their bi-annual D23 convention where they showcased all the upcoming movies, shows, and park announcements, so basically their own Comic-Con. On the first day of the expo, Disney had one giant presentation showcasing different projects from their multiple IPs like Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel. It was followed by the next two days of panels dedicated to Marvel Animation and park announcements. Overall, it seemed that this year’s presentation was mostly all sequels and spin-offs to major franchises. However, I was still able to pick out my top 5 announcements from the presentations.

1.Agatha All Along Trailer

The next Marvel Disney Plus to show to release is Agatha All Along where a trailer was released along with a performance of a new song. This is the sequel series to WandaVision where we follow Agatha Harkness following the events of WestView. From what I saw from the trailer, the show expected to have a darker and edgy vibe and it is coming out just in time for Halloween. I just hope it lives up to the hype that WandaVision brought since this is the sequel in a three-part trilogy (along with Vision show). There is also a possibility that the Scarlet Witch is going to appear at some point in the show.

2. Marvel Animation Panel

The animated shows of Marvel had a separate panel during the second day of the expo. The following shows that were presented were: Eyes of Wakanda, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man, X-Men 97, What-If season 3, and Marvel Zombies. Only exclusive footage was shown, but it sounded like there was positive feedback. Honestly, I have enjoyed watching the Marvel animation shows like What-If and X-Men 97. They bring a unique aspect that cannot be replicated in live-action, and it is all thanks to a huge team of animators that spend countless hours putting these shows together. I can’t wait to see what these upcoming shows have to offer.

3. New Avengers-themed attraction

This was previously announced at the last D23 Expo in 2022, but Avengers Campus in Disneyland will include two new attractions. One of them involves a multiversal battle storyline now officially called “Avengers Infinity Defense.” It will feature a variant of Thanos and it will take place in different locations from the MCU. When I saw some concept art a few years ago, I thought it was neat because it featured multiple characters from the MCU. I hope that it stays true to those concepts when it opens next year considering how we are getting Avengers: Secret Wars in a couple of years. (Yes, I know the rides/attractions aren’t cannon to the MCU).

4. Disney on Broadway

During the D23 presentation, there were performances from Disney Broadway productions that showcased upcoming announcements. A couple of the major ones I was excited was Frozen on Broadway coming to Disney Plus, and a musical production of The Greatest Showman currently in development. Disney has been known for producing some of the biggest musicals out of their movies such as The Lion King (the first musical that I saw), Aladdin, and Frozen. More recently, it has gained popularity on Disney Plus with the addition of Hamilton. Therefore, I liked that they are putting their own musicals on the streaming platform so that viewers who aren’t able to see it in-person can watch it at home. Especially if a lot of Broadway productions don’t tour to your home state. I also knew that the Greatest Showman would be a great Broadway musical, and I am glad Disney listened to the fans.

5. Moana 2 Trailer

Earlier I said that this year’s D23 major presentation was mostly sequels and spinoffs of existing franchises. We got announcements such as Toy Story 5, Frozen 3, and Incredibles 3. However, the upcoming movie I was interested in is Moana 2. A full trailer was released online, and it looks amazing. The original Moana has a soft spot in my heart because it is set in a Pacific Island nation, which is where I am from. Also, this was originally going to be a Disney Plus series, but I am glad it was changed to be a movie. I just hope that when it releases in theaters, it doesn’t look like a bunched of episodes stitched into one long film.

What I Wished was Announced/Shown

This part is going to more on the Marvel side, but back at San Diego Comic-Con in 2022 Marvel announced a bunch of movies and shows for phases 4-6. Since then, the projects have shifted around a lot, and the overall multiversal saga is going to go in a different direction with their major antagonist. At both this year’s Comic-Con and D23, I am glad we got updates about most of those projects, but there are still some that we haven’t heard anything about. For instance, Armor Wars was going to be a show but changed to a movie, and there were no updates on if this project is still happening or not. Blade was also going to be another anticipated movie with actor Mahershala Ali announced as the lead role all the way back in 2019. Since then, this movie has gone through multiple script changes, and a couple of the directors exiting the production. It is understandable since they want this movie to be a success upon the original 1998 movie with Wesley Snipes (spoilers for Deadpool and Wolverine, we did see him in the void). However, the main concern is where this movie will fit in the remaining phases of the Multiverse saga among multiple movies already announced. Therefore, I am surprised that Blade wasn’t announced at all, and is least likely to release in the following year.

Now I am going to rant on here, and say that the Marvel portion for this year’s D23 was honestly underwhelming. Not much was released to the public outside of the expo except for one trailer. I also don’t understand why they had to show footage for Captain America: Brave New World and Fantastic Four: First Steps when it was already shown a couple weeks ago at Comic-Con. Not sure if it is a great idea, but I think for future D23 presentations, they should livestream more of it on Disney Plus since people are already paying for a subscription. Then after D23 is over, they can delete it so nothing gets leaked online. Even though it was underwhelming, I don’t think we should be ungrateful for it. Marvel is focusing on quality over quantity with their projects. If you recall from the beginning of phase 4 through phase 5 currently, Marvel released a lot of movies and TV shows where a majority of them were mediocre. That was a result of the visual effects team being overwhelmed in their workload, and cutting corners. Maybe it is a good idea that Marvel didn’t announce as many projects this year because then people will be expecting those projects only for them to be delayed further. Besides there is always next year’s Comic-Con and future D23 expos.

Those were my top 5 announcements from this year’s D23 expo. I want to thank you all for being so patient with me for getting this post out. Like I said, I have been dealing with a lot of personal issues lately and it has been affecting my mental health. I don’t know if I will even have a blog post next month depending on how everything in my life goes. If not, then know that I am just doing what is best for my mental health and taking care of myself. I hope you guys are taking care of yourselves as well. Until then, be sure to follow @pressure.shock on Instagram and feel free to read my other blog posts!