D23 Expo Summary: Star Wars, Marvel, And So Much More

Last week, Disney held a convention called the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center. This Disney fan club event typically has a number of announcements for Star Wars, Marvel, and other properties. This year was no exception as new trailers, new movies, and new shows for the Disney + streaming service were announced. Let’s take a look at all of the fan services Disney plans on delivering soon!

 

Marvel News

 

Spider-Man Leaves the MCU

 

Even before the D23 Expo began, Disney and their Marvel properties were making the news. The biggest news, unfortunately, was about Spider-Man’s future. 

Apparently, a deal between Sony and Disney/Marvel has failed regarding Spider-man. As a result, it looks like Spider-Man will no longer be a part of the MCU… for the time being.

As it stands, Sony Pictures still holds the full rights to Spider-man and his numerous villains and allies. With this new wrinkle, Tom Holland will still play Spider-man in future films, but will no longer be in plans for other Marvel character cross-overs like the Avengers.

Marvel only recently (as of Captain America: Civil War back in 2016) had Spider-Man within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Since then Spider-Man has been in the last two Avengers movies as well as two highly successful solo movies. Spider-man: Homecoming and Spider-man: Far From Home managed to gross around $1.9 billion. The lastest of the two is actually Sony Picture’s highest-grossing movie to date. 

 

She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and Ms. Marvel on Disney +

 

 

Earlier this year, Marvel had already announced additional content from the MCU to debut on their upcoming streaming service called Disney +. At that point we heard of Marvel shows called Wandavision, What If, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and Loki.

At the D23 Expo, Marvel created even more buzz by announcing She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and Ms. Marvel as three more new shows. 

 

She-Hulk

 

She-Hulk brings to life the female counterpart to Bruce Banner’s The Incredible Hulk. The character She-Hulk, also named Jennifer Walters, is in full control of her ‘Hulk mode’ and is a lawyer within the MCU. This fan-favorite will surely garner plenty of attention.

 

Moon Knight

 

Moon Knight is basically Marvel’s version of Batman with a twist. The hero, former Marine turned merc Mark Spector is granted powers by an Egyptian god. The cost is that he develops a multiple personality disorder. With mental health being a big talking point in politics nowadays, this show has big potential to have an impact.

 

Ms. Marvel

 

Ms. Marvel is probably the biggest of the three announcements. Created back in 2015 during Marvel’s All New-All Different event by Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker, Ms. Marvel is a Pakistani-American hero. Imbued with shape-shifting powers, Kamala Khan has become a fan favorite much in the same fashion as Spider-man since she is a teenager struggling with her newfound powers. 

 

Black Panther 2 and The Eternals

 

 

Marvel couldn’t leave the stage without giving a few details on their upcoming MCU offerings. Director Ryan Coogler appeared to drop the release date of Black Panther 2. Scheduled for May 6th, 2022, the new movie will have a different title that will give more of a hint towards the movie’s content.

Also, Marvel brought a number of the cast for the upcoming The Eternals movie. The cast of this movie includes Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, Lia McHugh, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, and Don Lee. Kit Harrington of Game of Thrones fame was also announced to be a part of the project as a character named the Black Knight.

 

Star Wars

 

The Mandalorian

 

 

Lucasfilm will be adding to the Disney + lineup with a new project called The Mandalorian. With an action-packed trailer, the Star Wars universe seems to have plenty of new stories to tell. The pitch for this movie is to highlight the lawlessness that the universe saw right after the events of Return of the Jedi. This will begin streaming on November 12th.

Obi-Wan Series

 

One of the big surprises of the D23 Expo event was the announcement of the Obi-Wan series starring Ewan Mcgregor. This will apparently chronicle events after the Revenge of the Sith. While no release date was given, the shoots are planned for next year.

Cassian Andor Series

 

Another show revealed at the D23 Expo is the return of Cassian Andor from the Rogue One movie. This character was the male counterpart of the movie’s female lead in Jyn Erso. As the Alliance Intelligence officer, this spy and his quick-witted android will have their own adventures available on Disney + soon. 

Rise of the Skywalker Trailer

 

 

Last but not least, the D23 Expo was treated with a second trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Not a whole lot was shocking except for the last little bit of the trailer. There we see what looks like Rey in a Sith looking black robe wielding a dual bladed red lightsaber. With the Emperor’s voice in the background, there will certainly be more rumors floating about the galaxy!