Kevin Mayer D23 EXPO 2019
Disney+ made its D23 Expo debut with its first-ever showcase presentation, announcing six new series in development and revealing key details about the highly anticipated streaming service to an enthusiastic audience at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim.
The event showcased the sweeping array of talent with in-person and video appearances from the stars of Disney+’s slate of originals from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic and included sneak peeks, trailer premieres, and exclusive news about the service and its upcoming projects. Actress Yvette Nicole Brown, who stars in the Disney+ original film Lady and the Tramp, hosted the lively presentation, welcoming Kevin Mayer, Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer & International, to the stage to kick off the show.
“With less than three months until launch, Disney+ will soon entertain and inspire audiences of all ages for generations to come, and we’re excited to preview some of the amazing original content being created for the service exclusively from our world-class brands today at the D23 Expo. Storytelling is the cornerstone of The Walt Disney Company and we’re thrilled to unveil a new slate of original shows from the Star Wars and Marvel cinematic universes, along with popular television franchises set to return with all-new series streaming only on Disney+,” said Mayer.
As part of the presentation, some of the creative minds behind Disney+’s content slate including Sean Bailey, president, Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production; Kevin Feige, president, Marvel Studios; Kathleen Kennedy, president, Lucasfilm; and Gary Marsh, president and Chief Creative Officer, Disney Channel Worldwide, gave fans a first look at the service’s upcoming originals and announced exciting new titles: Ewan McGregor made a surprise appearance to announce his return as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a new untitled series from Lucasfilm; Kevin Feige announced that Marvel Studios is developing three new live-action series: Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and She-Hulk, all derived from Marvel comics; Hilary Duff surprised the audience when it was announced she will reprise the role she made famous in an all-new Lizzie McGuire series from Terri Minsky; forty years after leaving the swamp in his big screen debut in The Muppet Movie, Kermit the Frog is heading upstream with Miss Piggy, and the gang, bringing a new kind of mayhem and laughter to Disney+ with their first-ever unscripted short-form series, Muppets Now.
Some of Disney+’s original movies and shows set to stream when the service launches on November 12 are: Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series; the film Lady and the Tramp; Noelle with Anna Kendrick and Billy Eichner; The World According to Jeff Goldblum (12×60’) from National Geographic, the unscripted series, Encore! and, a new collection of Pixar animated shorts Forky Asks A Question.
