D23 Expo: Disney Presents MCU News

Alongside Marvel, Star Wars was not left out either

by Pierre Lorenz on September 13, 2022

When Marvel CEO Kevin Feige entered the stage at the last D23 Expo, one thing became clear: There will surely be some news concerning upcoming MCU movies and series. One by one, they presented the MCU of the coming years, which is why we have prepared an overview for you here. 

For example, there was an exclusive look at "Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever". You could see pictures of Angela Bassett as Ramonda as well as a short clip from the movie. After the death of King T'Challa as well as his actor Chadwick Boseman, the kingdom of Wakanda has to face many challenges - including raids by other nations who want to get hold of the valuable resource vibranium. The film is scheduled to be the next in the MCU and will be released in theaters on November 11, 2022. 

In contrast, a proper trailer was shown at the panel of "Secret Invasion". With Nick Fury at the center, next year's series revolves around the S.H.I.E.L.D. leader, who after a long journey in space discovers a society infiltrated by Skrulls. Together with allies like War Machine, he must try to avert the danger. In addition, Don Cheadle, who was present at the event, got us excited about "Armor Wars": a series that will be shot next year. 

Other series presented include "Ironheart", "Echo" and "Daredevil: Born Again". "Ironheart" offered a brief glimpse of her armor, "Echo" featured a clip of the returning King Pin, and "Daredevil: Born Again" received a short clip, which, however, comes from "She-Hulk" and not from its own series. 

Also included in sufficient numbers were other films from the MCU. One of the lesser-known ones is probably "Werewolf by Night", which will be available on Disney+ and is shot entirely in black and white. A returnee, meanwhile, could be seen in "Captain America 4: New World Order": There, Anthony Mackie takes on the role as the new Captain America. A somewhat different superhero team are the "Thunderbolts", who celebrate their MCU debut at the end of Phase 5. The disparate squad brings together many dubious characters from the MCU, including Red Guardian from "Black Widow" and Sebastian Stan alias Bucky from "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier". Yet, he is supposed to be the most normal one in the "Suicide Squad"-like Marvel movie. Rather disappointing was the panel of "Fantastic Four", as there was no introduction of the cast, contrary to expectations. As a small addition, Disney presented a few novelties to various theme parks, including a new Thanos figure that will soon be on display at Disneyland in Anaheim. A concept art impressively demonstrates how the villain will be seen as King Thanos at the Avengers campus there in the future. 

Besides the countless movies and series from the MCU, "Star Wars" was also provided with a stage. First, there is the second season of "The Bad Batch", an animated series and spin-off from "The Clone Wars", which will be released on Disney+ on January 4, 2023. Another spin-off of "The Clone Wars" is the series "Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi", which includes six short films and also features characters such as Ahsoka Tano and Count Doku. Disney presented a first trailer for the series. Fan favorite Ahsoka Tano is additionally getting her own series of the same name in live-action format. Just as in "The Mandalorian", she will be played by Rosario Dawson. Apart from the third season of "The Mandalorian", which was also proudly teased, there was news about "Skeleton Crew". Set in the New Republic era, the series centers on a group of four who embark on a long journey to get home. Actor Jude Law is one of the cast members. 

Thus, Disney provided us with a very lush presentation on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and equally on Lucasfilm and "Star Wars".