Disney sets the stage for what's next in entertainment at D23: The Ultimate Fan Event

Thousands of Disney fans from around the world came together in Anaheim, Calif. today for the start of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event presented by Visa. From an expanded show floor filled with immersive experiences and exclusive offerings at the Anaheim Convention Center, to the spectacular nighttime Disney Entertainment Showcase at the Honda Center, fans experienced a day packed with unforgettable moments, beloved stories, and exclusive first looks at what’s next from Disney’s world-class storytellers.

Josh D’Amaro, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, kicked off the evening’s event by welcoming fans to D23 and highlighting the extraordinary relationship that Disney has with fans across generations and around the world.

“Right now, nearly half a million people are in our parks and on our cruise ships. Millions more are watching our stories in theaters or at home. Someone right now is seeing ‘The Lion King’ on Broadway for the very first time,” D’Amaro said. “When you add it all up, Disney has something no other brand on Earth can claim. Not just a customer base, not just an audience, but an actual connection. A connection that reaches every single corner of the globe, spans every age and every background, and becomes part of people’s lives and the memories that they carry with them. A connection with more than four billion fans. That’s half the world’s population who don’t just look to us for entertainment; they look to us for inspiration.”

Over more than a century, Disney has built a global fandom across ages, cultures, and every corner of the Disney universe. D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event brings that fandom together in one place, with experiences spanning Disney, Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, Disney, Hulu, ESPN, Disney Experiences, and more.

Tonight, an array of Disney's most celebrated storytellers, stars, filmmakers, creators, and performers took the stage at the Honda Center for the highly anticipated Disney Entertainment Showcase. Hosted by the stars of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia 2 (2025), Ginnifer Goodwin and Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan, the evening featured surprise celebrity appearances, exclusive footage, stunning musical performances, major announcements, and first looks at upcoming projects spanning Disney's film studios, television brands, streaming platforms, and live stage productions.

Dana Walden, President and Chief Creative Officer of The Walt Disney Company, opened the Disney Entertainment Showcase alongside one of the most iconic characters in television history, Bart Simpson. Having played a key role in the success of The Simpsons franchise over the entirety of her career, Walden presented a special sneak peek of the upcoming film, releasing in theaters in September, 2027.

DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT TAKES CENTER STAGE

DISNEY

Oscar winner Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey), who will be honored as a Disney Legend this Sunday, took to the stage to speak about what being a member of the Disney family has meant to her, dating back to the film that started it all: The Princess Diaries.

Maia Kealoha, Lilo from the live-action film Lilo & Stitch, entered the stage looking for her blue fugitive alien friend, Stitch, who surprised D23 attendees on the big screen with his new pink co-star, Angel. Lilo & Stitch 2, the sequel to the blockbuster film, which grossed over 1 billion at the box office in 2025, is scheduled to begin production in Hawaiʻi later this year, under the direction of Chris Sanders, who co-created, co-wrote, and directed the 2002 animated film. Sanders also provided the voice of Stitch in both the animated and live-action films. The producer is Jonathan Eirich, and the executive producers are Ryan Halperin and Tom Peitzman. Lilo & Stitch 2 will open in theaters May, 2028.

Disney’s showcase featured a brand-new teaser trailer and poster debut for The Bluey Movie, complete with a surprise game of Keepy Uppy for fans with giant versions of the iconic red balloons. The teaser trailer offers a first look at the CG-animated film based on the beloved series about Bluey, a lovable, inexhaustible blue heeler dog who lives with her Mum, Dad, and little sister, Bingo. The Bluey Movie takes place on an action-packed day when a big surprise changes everything for Bluey and her family. The film arrives in theaters on August 4, 2027. The Bluey Movie is written and directed by creator Joe Brumm and produced by Ludo Studio in collaboration with BBC Studios, with distribution through Walt Disney Studios. The film is produced by Amber Naismith and co-directed by Richard Jeffery. Joe Brumm also serves as executive producer, alongside Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson for Ludo Studio, and Justine Flynn for BBC Studios. Returning voice talent includes Melanie Zanetti and David McCormack as Mum (Chilli) and Dad (Bandit).

Link: https://youtu.be/2mE1RnRDd_I

The herd is back! Ice Age: Boiling Point cast members Queen Latifah and Denis Leary took the stage, introducing an exclusive clip in-room for D23 attendees that featured Scrat, Baby Scrat, and which introduced their enormous, prehistoric cousin, Jurassic Scrat. The highly anticipated film is a dinosaur-and-lava-filled madcap adventure that takes Manny (voiced by Ray Romano), Sid (voiced by John Leguizamo), Diego (voiced by Denis Leary), Ellie (voiced by Queen Latifah), Buck (voiced by Simon Pegg), the acorn-obsessed trio of Scrat, Baby Scrat, and Jurassic Scrat, and the rest of the herd to visit never-before-seen corners of the treacherous Lost World. The film is directed by John C. Donkin (The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild), produced by Lori Forte (Ice Age, Ice Age: Collision Course) and releases exclusively in theaters February, 2027.

Mother Gothel, Kathryn Hahn (The Studio, Agatha All Along), entered the stage to talk about Tangled, a live-action retelling of the 2010 Disney animated film based on the Brothers Grimm Rapunzel fairy tale. The D23 audience was also treated to a taped message from Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, Teagan Croft (Titans) and Milo Manheim (Zombies franchise), who are currently filming in Spain. The film is directed by Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman) and produced by Kristin Burr (Cruella) for Burr! Productions, with Lucy Kitada (Project Hail Mary) serving as executive producer. The film also stars Diego Luna (Andor) as a new character, Hawthorne, Caitríona Balfe (Outlander, Belfast) as Queen Arianna, Elliot Cowan (The Crown) as King Frederic, and Patrick and Hugo McPherson (Pear) as the Stabbington twins. Tangled will open in theaters March, 2028.

Hahn next introduced Disney Legend Jon Favreau (Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, The Jungle Book) to the stage. The creator, writer, co-director, and executive producer of Oswald, an all-new live-action animated hybrid series based on the classic character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, screened a clip for the room. When an earthquake releases Walt Disney's creation, Oswald, who has been hidden away since the 1920s, a middle school boy and his friends try to help the cartoon rabbit navigate his way through the modern world. The series, which stars Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Ryder Allen, Al Madrigal, with Kathryn Hahn and Albert Brooks, is directed by Jon Favreau, Jude Weng, and Andrew R. Jones, written by Jon Favreau, based on the original Oswald the Lucky Rabbit by Walt Disney, and created by Jon Favreau. The executive producers are Jon Favreau, Andrew R. Jones, Karen Gilchrist, and John Bartnicki. Oswald will premiere February, 2027, exclusively on Disney.

PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS

Alan Bergman, Chairman of Disney Entertainment, Studios, spoke on stage about Pixar and introduced its Chief Creative Officer, Pete Docter. Bergman shared how, as a young animator, Docter nearly took a job on The Simpsons before instead joining Pixar. “Pete and the team continue to deliver films with tremendous heart and humor,” Bergman said. “And this year they had the fantastic Hoppers as well as Toy Story 5—the biggest film in the franchise that started it all for Pixar.”

Pete Docter was given a rousing welcome as he kicked off the Pixar portion of the showcase, beginning with an exclusive first look at Disney and Pixar’s Incredibles 3, featuring the fan-favorite family of Supers back in action. Incredibles 3 is directed by Peter Sohn (Elemental), produced by Academy Award winners Dana Murray (Soul) and Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and releases exclusively in theaters June, 2028.

Docter then unveiled updates for Disney and Pixar’s Coco 2. New concept art revealed Miguel as a teenager, before Docter was joined onstage by Benjamin Bratt (voice of Ernesto de la Cruz), confirming that the first film’s villain will reemerge in Coco 2, resulting in a life-changing return trip to the Land of the Dead for Miguel. Coco 2 reunites the team behind the original film, including Academy Award-winning director Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) and co-director Adrian Molina (Coco). Oscar winner Mark Nielsen (Toy Story 4) produces. Coco 2 will debut exclusively in theaters in November 2029. Shortly after, Disney & Pixar Games and SQUARE ENIX shared new details on KINGDOM HEARTS IV which will feature a world inspired by Coco, and a late 2027 release window.

It was next announced by Docter that Pixar is developing a brand-new original film titled Ghost Market. A clip from the film was shown in-room that introduces audiences to ʻOno Market, a little plate lunch shop hidden away in a remote location on Oʻahu’s North Shore that serves lost spirits, stuck between life and death. The living have never set foot in this place - until a fast-talking kid named Kyle blunders in and finds himself on an unexpected supernatural adventure. Ghost Market is directed by Trevor Jimenez (Weekends) and Jesse Andrews (Hoppers), produced by Academy Award winner Becky Neiman-Cobb (Bao), and dated for theatrical release in March 2028.

Docter closed out Pixar Animation Studios’ portion of the program with a D23 exclusive look at Disney and Pixar’s March 2027, theatrical release Gatto. In the upcoming animated adventure, the scrappy black cat Nero (voiced by Mark Ruffalo) begins to question whether he’s lived the right lives after years of maneuvering the canal-ridden, superstitious city of Venice, Italy. Indebted to Rocco (voiced by Laurence Fishburne), the ruthless local feline mob boss, Nero finds himself in a quandary and is forced to forge a truly unexpected friendship that may finally lead him to his purpose - unless Venice gets the better of him first. Gatto is directed by Enrico Casarosa and produced by Andrea Warren, the filmmaking team behind Disney and Pixar’s Oscar-nominated feature Luca.

20TH CENTURY STUDIOS

Romy and Michele, aka Mira Sorvino (American Crime Story, Mighty Aphrodite) and Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback, Friends), entered the stage to a shower of yellow Post-it notes to talk about Romy & Michele 2. The sequel to the beloved 1997 film is directed by Tim Federle, the screenwriter of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. The film, which also stars Alan Cumming, Camryn Manheim, Keegan-Michael Key, Rob Huebel, Breckin Meyer, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Janeane Garofalo, will debut exclusively on Disney in 2027.

MARVEL STUDIOS

Marvel Studios’ portion of the D23 showcase kicked off with the Vision himself, Paul Bettany (Avengers: Infinity War, Amadeus), who was joined by Ultron, James Spader (The Blacklist, Avengers: Age of Ultron), and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige as they teased fans with a first look at the trailer and poster for Marvel Television’s VisionQuest, an all-new original series coming exclusively to Disney October 14, 2026, which concludes the epic trilogy that began with 2021’s groundbreaking, award-winning WandaVision and 2024’s acclaimed Agatha All Along. Vision, rebooted and having escaped from those who sought to weaponize him, has been in hiding. Searching for new meaning, he consults the AI personas embedded in his programming, including F.R.I.D.A.Y., E.D.I.T.H., J.A.R.V.I.S., and the infamous Ultron. His discreet existence ends when a bounty placed on his head thrusts him on the run with Thomas Shepard, a mysterious boy who may be Vision’s son, reincarnate. As Vision evades capture, he must confront his nature, resist Ultron's influence, and unravel the enigma that is his young companion if he’s to survive. VisionQuest stars Paul Bettany, James Spader, Ruaridh Mollica, Todd Stashwick, T’Nia Miller, Lauren Morais, Orla Brady, Diane Morgan, Polly Frame, Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, with Emily Hampshire, and James D’Arcy. The series is directed by Christopher J. Byrne, Gandja Monteiro, Vincenzo Natali, Terry Matalas, and written by Terry Matalas, Cindy Appel, Christopher Monfette, Nicole Falsetti, and Matthew Okumura. VisionQuest is created for television by Terry Matalas, based on the Marvel Comics. The executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Mary Livanos, Terry Matalas, Jac Schaeffer, and Christopher J. Byrne, and the producer is Roopesh Parekh.

Link: https://youtu.be/baXhBAxNskg

As excitement for Marvel Studios’ December 16, 2026, release Avengers: Doomsday builds, Kevin Feige was joined onstage by Academy Award winner Robert Downey Jr. (Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), and Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) to unveil a special look at the upcoming film, now available to the public. A new poster also debuted today. In Avengers: Doomsday, beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered. Avengers: Doomsday is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, and Jonathan Schwartz. The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Pedro Pascal, Paul Rudd, Anthony Mackie, Florence Pugh, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Wyatt Russell, Channing Tatum, Simu Liu, Ian McKellen, Hayley Atwell, Tom Hiddleston, James Marsden, Patrick Stewart, Joseph Quinn, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Letitia Wright, Lewis Pullman, Kelsey Grammer, Kathryn Newton, Danny Ramirez, Winston Duke, Alan Cumming, Hannah John-Kamen, Rebecca Romijn, Mabel Cadena, with Tenoch Huerta Mejia.

Link: https://youtu.be/67K_lgcbw4A

Marvel Studios’ showcase presentation concluded on an electrifying note as Feige was joined onstage by Sadie Sink, who debuted as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and director Jake Schreier (Thunderbolts*), to discuss the all-new X-Men film in development. The trio then welcomed Sink’s new castmates to the stage: Kit Connor (Heartstopper) as Scott Summers, Christopher Abbott (Catch-22) as Professor Charles Xavier, Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette (Obsession) as Rogue, and Maya Boyd (& Juliet) as Storm. In a special video recording, Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) announced that he will play Nathaniel Milbury. The untitled X-Men film