Disney Entertainment Showcases What’s Next for its Iconic Franchises at…

Disney Entertainment dazzled the crowd at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa^® on Friday night with a cavalcade of announcements about some of its most beloved brands. That included updates about highly anticipated films and series such as Walt Disney Animation's Zootopia 2, Pixar's Toy Story 5, Disney'sSnow White, and Marvel Television's Agatha All Along.

The breadth and diversity of the D23 announcements on Friday added to a hot summer at the box office with blockbusters such as 20th Century Studios' Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Pixar Animation Studios' Inside Out 2, and Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine. Those films have collectively brought in $2.8 billion at the global box office, and represent the No. 1 titles at the domestic box office in May, June, and July.

The reveals at D23 - which took place at the Honda Center - also stood as a testament to Disney being the premier company at creating cultural events via innovative and creative storytelling.

"It's exciting to be able to bring so many incredible announcements and experiences from our Studios to our biggest and best fans at D23," Alan Bergman, Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman, said. "Tonight's lineup showcased the wide range of exceptional movies and shows that we can't wait to bring to audiences over the next few years. I'm grateful to all of the filmmakers, actors, and performers that joined us onstage to make this an unforgettable night for our fans."

Here are some of the biggest announcements, updates, and reveals from Disney Entertainment's showcase at D23: The Ultimate Fan Event on Friday night.

Moana 2

Before getting to the announcements, the Disney Entertainment Showcase opened with singing, dancing, and Dwayne Johnson hyping the crowd. All of it was to drum up excitement for one of the most anticipated films of the year, Walt Disney Animation Studios' Moana 2.

Auliʻi Cravalho - the voice of Moana - performed the brand-new song from the film "We're Back" alongside dancers and a band while Johnson - the voice of demigod Maui - did a call and response with the audience that shook the walls of the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The film - which opens in theaters on November 27 - debuted a new trailer and poster that celebrated one of Disney's most popular and growing franchises.

The original Moana grossed nearly $700 million in 2016 before becoming a major hit on streaming. The film was the most-streamed film of 2023 across all platforms in the U.S., according to the Nielsen 2023 streaming viewership report.

That success led to the sequel and fans cannot contain their excitement for it with Moana 2 recording the biggest animated trailer launch in Disney history with nearly 200 million views in just 24 hours.

Frozen 3

With more than $2.7 billion earned at the global box office, a significant product line, and countless renditions of "Let It Go," one of the most popular cultural franchises of the past decade is Walt Disney Animation Studios' Frozen.

And soon there will be even more from Anna, Elsa, and Olaf to keep the franchise warm in the hearts of fans everywhere.

Jennifer Lee - Chief Creative Officer of Disney Animation - showed off concept art from production designer Brittney Lee and a logo for the new film, which is set to debut in 2027.

Incredibles 3

Just announced at #D23: #Incredibles3 is officially in the works at Pixar! pic.twitter.com/IZCEBFJwXs

- Pixar (@Pixar) August 10, 2024

Pete Docter - Pixar's Chief Creative Officer - had a lot to be joyful about thanks to the recent successes and the future of the animation studios on Friday night.

That included a big thank you to the fans for their support of Inside Out 2 - which became the highest-grossing animated film of all time this summer - as well as updates about series such as 2024's Win or Lose, and films like 2025's Elio and 2026's Toy Story 5. Additionally, Docter announced a new series coming to Disney+ in 2025, Dream Productions, based on the world of Inside Out, and a new feature film set for release Spring of 2026 called Hoppers.

However, one of the biggest surprises of the night was the announcement that Incredibles 3 is officially in the works. Oscar®-winning filmmaker Brad Bird is currently developing the film.

The superhero series is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed franchises in all of animation with the first two films bringing in nearly $2 billion, collectively, and the original film winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Avatar: Fire And Ash

Moving away from animation, Disney Entertainment shared a lot of news about its live-action slate of films. That included one of the biggest film series in box office history, Avatar.

The science-fiction franchise had its stars in attendance including Zoë Saldaña, Sam Worthington and director James Cameron to talk about the next film in the series, which hits theaters on December 19, 2025. The 20th Century Studios film also revealed concept art from the upcoming third installment as well as its new title, Avatar: Fire And Ash.

2009's Avatar grossed $2.9 billion at the worldwide box office while its sequel, 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water, followed closely by bringing in $2.3 billion globally. That places them as the No. 1 and No. 3 highest-grossing films of all time.

Other Avatar sequels are set to be released in 2029 and 2031.

The Mandalorian and Grogu

Friday night's event also had everyone's favorite bounty hunter and apprentice from the Star Warsgalaxy.

Director Jon Favreau and Producer Dave Filoni showed off new footage from upcoming film, The Mandalorian & Grogu, to cheers and excitement in the Honda Center.

The film - which hits theaters in 2026 - is the first starring the characters from the hit Disney+ show. It is the first Star Wars film in theaters since 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Daredevil: Born Again

Marvel Television's Daredevil: Born Again - which launches on Disney+ in March 2025 - brought out the cast of the street-level Super Hero series, including Charlie Cox, Vincent D'Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson and Jon Bernthal

The series catches up with Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer with heightened abilities, and his nemesis, Wilson Fisk, who's pursuing his own political endeavors in New York. The cast shared footage from the new series with D23 attendees.

TRON: Ares

The next film in the TRON series hit the stage in style on Friday night as star Jared Leto showed up by an iconic lightcycle alongside fellow cast members, Jeff Bridges, Greta Lee, and Evan Peters.

The cast shared details about their characters and gave an in-room-only early look. The presentation then used lasers to announce big news: the film's music will be done by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails.

The film - which is directed by Joachim Rønning and slated for theatrical release on October 10, 2025 - follows a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind's first encounter with A.I. beings.

Mufasa: The Lion King

To close out Disney Entertainment Showcase, Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King brought out Lebo M., who contributes to the film's music, performing the iconic "Nants' Ingonyama" alongside a full choir.

The film - which hits theaters on December 20 - is directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins and will explore the story of how Mufasa became one of the greatest kings of the Pride Lands.

Jenkins welcomed to the stage Mufasa songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda in his first-ever D23 appearance. Together, they offered a special look at a sequence from the film featuring a new song, "I Always Wanted a Brother." Jenkins was joined by cast members Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Theo Somolu, Braelyn Rankins and Anika Noni Rose.

The prequel continues the tradition of the original 1994 movie - which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year - and follows the cinematic style of 2019's The Lion King, which made $1.6 billion at the global box office. The innovative approach blends live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery.

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The Disney Entertainment Showcase gave fans a full look at what's to come from The Walt Disney Company while also displaying Disney's might when it comes to franchises and IP.

Since 2005, Disney has more films that have grossed over $1 billion at the global box office (27) than the entire industry combined (22), including four that have grossed over $2 billion.

And as Friday night showed, this is just the beginning with more to come from these beloved brands.

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