Today we’ll see presentations from Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios at the D23 Expo. I’m sure fans have certain expectations and hopes for the event, even after a disappointing Disney+ Day and Disney Games Showcase. Yesterday saw the D23 Expo presentation for Walt Disney Pictures, Disney Animation and Pixar, where a number of updates on exciting projects and announcements were made. However some of the news appeared to leak online earlier than when the event took place via a Twitter user, who is also claiming to have insight into the Lucasfilm panel.
The Twitter user, ThwipT, shared some details on the Disney and Pixar presentation that took place yesterday ahead of the event which turned out to be accurate. One example was that Disney would announce a movie for Fall 2023 which would see the blend been animation styles and would be directed by Chris Buck, which turned out to be Wish, a film that will blend water painting and 3D animation. The Twitter user also claimed that a new trailer for Pixar’s Strange World would be shown at the event, which it was, but not released online, and the cast of Pixar’s Elemental will be announced, which it was.
The Twitter user has stated multiple times that they don’t know everything at the event, which is evident when you look at all the announcements and reveals from the Disney and Pixar presentation from yesterday. The user has said the same regarding what they’ve heard about Lucasfilm’s presentation. I must stress this is a rumour, just because the user had some things right at yesterdays presentation, it does not mean they’ll be right about anything at the Lucasfilm presentation and some could just be obvious guesses.
The Twitter user claimed that a trailer for The Mandalorian season three will be shown at the presentation. It’s not known if the trailer will just be shown in the room or released online, as at previous D23’s and at yesterdays presentation some footage are just shown exclusively for those in attendance which was the case yesterday for Disney projects such as The Haunted Mansion, Pan and Wendy, and Snow White. The third season of The Mandalorian is currently five months away which is typically too early for a trailer release for a Disney+ streaming service.
We’ve had a bunch of castings updates over the past few days for multiple projects including Ahsoka, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, and the Twitter user claims that we’ll get more casting announcements for the Ahsoka series which wraps filming in November. Just yesterday it was revealed by Cinelinx, and later confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, that Eman Esfandi (King Richard) had been cast at Ezra Bridger in the series. Fans have been clambering to know just who will play Grand Admiral Thrawn in the series, so if what the Twitter user claims is true, hopefully the Thrawn casting is one of the announcements. The Twitter user doesn’t mention it, but with the recents casting reveals for The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, I’d expect to hear more from those series.
One announcement fans have been desperate for is regarding the release of the second season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. It’s been a turbulent few weeks regarding the release of the season with a September 28th release being listed then de-listed, then with backend data on Disney+ listing it for January 4th and with no announcement regarding the season on Disney+ Day which many fans had hoped and expected, the release date saga has grown frustrating for fans. According to the Twitter user a new trailer for second season along with its release date will be revealed during the D23 Expo presentation.
The final Star Wars claim from the Twitter user is that a second season of The Book of Boba Fett will be announced at the presentation. I’m sure some fans will be quite pleased if this claim proves to be true. Personally I found the series to be okay, but it’s my least favourite live-action Star Wars series released this far and I hope for an uptick in quality in terms of writing and directing from Robert Rodriguez if he’s involved.
Outside of the Star Wars projects listed, other claims regarding Lucasfilm releases are that footage for the upcoming Willow series due to release in November will be shown, which many fans expected given after Andor its Lucasfilm’s next live-action series and that footage and the title for Indiana Jones 5 will be revealed, another expectation most fans have had given its Lucasfilm’s next movie release.
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