{"id":570190,"date":"2026-08-15T21:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T21:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/570190\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T21:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T21:48:12","slug":"d23-marvel-hypes-x-men-cast-but-disney-nostalgia-reigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/570190\/","title":{"rendered":"D23: Marvel hypes ‘X-Men’ cast but Disney nostalgia reigns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Marvel\u2019s new X-Men are ready for their close-up \u2014 finally. The cast of the upcoming superhero film took the stage together for the first time Friday night during the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23. <\/p>\n

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige capped off his portion of the presentation by formally introducing Sadie Sink, whose role in \u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day<\/a>\u201d had been kept under wraps before its release, as Jean Grey. Then, along with \u201cX-Men\u201d director Jake Schreier, they welcomed the rest of the cast. <\/p>\n

Joining Sink in \u201cX-Men\u201d are Kit Connor as Cyclops<\/a>, Christopher Abbott<\/a> as Professor Charles Xavier, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue and Maya Boyd as Storm. Adam Driver<\/a>, who appeared at the event in a recorded video bit, will be playing Nathaniel Milbury, better known to fans as Mr. Sinister. <\/p>\n

\u201cX-Men\u201d is expected to hit theaters May 5, 2028.<\/p>\n

Held at the Honda Center, the Disney Entertainment Showcase is one of the marquee presentations of the three-day D23 fan event where the various arms of Walt Disney Studios \u2014 including Lucasfilm, Pixar and Disney Animation \u2014 take the stage to promote their upcoming film and television projects. New CEO Josh D\u2019Amaro<\/a> received a rock star\u2019s welcome from the more than 12,000 Disney faithful attending this year\u2019s showcase, which was emceed by \u201cZootopia 2<\/a>\u201d stars and self-proclaimed \u201csuper fans\u201d Ke Huy Quan and Ginnifer Goodwin. <\/p>\n

Among the stars tapped to help promote their upcoming projects were Anne Hathaway (\u201cPrincess Diaries 3\u201d); Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas (\u201cCamp Rock 3\u201d); Benjamin Bratt (\u201cCoco 2\u201d and \u201cKingdom Hearts IV\u201d); Kathryn Hahn (\u201cTangled\u201d); Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell (\u201cAvengers: Doomsday\u201d); Ryan Gosling (\u201cStar Wars: Starfighter\u201d); and Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Josh Gad (\u201cFrozen III\u201d). <\/p>\n

Here are the biggest reveals and takeaways from Disney\u2019s studios showcase. <\/p>\n

Marvel\u2019s television future remains unclear \"\" <\/p>\n

As expected, Marvel Studios turned its spotlight to \u201cVisionQuest,\u201d the upcoming Disney+ series starring Paul Bettany (Vision) and James Spader (Ultron). Picking up after the events of \u201cWandaVision,\u201d the show will see Vision \u201cbeginning to ask rather more complicated questions\u201d about his identity and humanity, according to Bettany. <\/p>\n

After several movie announcements<\/a> at San Diego Comic-Con last month, fans had been anticipating Marvel\u2019s D23 presentation would focus on its series slate. But \u201cVisionQuest\u201d was the only TV show represented at the event. (Marvel\u2019s presentation also included a new \u201cAvengers: Doomsday\u201d clip<\/a> and a mention of the upcoming game \u201cMarvel\u2019s Wolverine.\u201d) <\/p>\n

The lack of new series announcements, along with the recent cancellation<\/a> of \u201cWonder Man\u201d Season 2 and reports<\/a> that Marvel is cutting back on live-action Disney+ shows, has cast a shadow on the MCU\u2019s TV future. \u201cVisionQuest\u201d will premiere Oct. 14. <\/p>\n

\u2018Star Wars\u2019 fans still love Hayden Christensen \"\" <\/p>\n

Lucasfilm President Dave Filoni brought the cast and creatives of \u201cAhsoka<\/a>\u201d Season 2 and \u201cStar Wars: Starfighter\u201d for his portion of the showcase, along with new footage from both projects. <\/p>\n

When \u201cAhsoka\u201d star Rosario Dawson invited Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) and Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger) to join her on stage, fans had an especially warm welcome for the prequel trilogy star. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs always, it is such an honor to get to play Anakin Skywalker,\u201d said Christensen. \u201cIn this new season. Anakin continues to advise Ahsoka. He challenges her and pushes her to answer the most important question in her life: Are you or are you not a Jedi?\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Shawn <\/p>\n

\u201cStar Wars: Starfighter\u201d director Shawn Levy, left, and Ryan Gosling, who is showing the symbol of his character Kade on his jacket. <\/p>\n

(Kevin Mazur \/ Getty Images for Disney)<\/p>\n

Director Shawn Levy and Ryan Gosling were on hand to discuss \u201cStar Wars: Starfighter,\u201d which will be set during a time period in the galaxy far, far away that has not yet been shown before. Gosling plays Kade Auberon, a Starfighter pilot (and possible mechanic), in the standalone film that will be set some time after the sequel trilogy. <\/p>\n

Disney is leaning on the magic of nostalgia in live-action and animation \"Lisa <\/p>\n

Mira Sorvino, right, and Lisa Kudrow appeared onstage as Romy and Michele, respectively, to tease their sequel. <\/p>\n

(Jesse Grant \/ Getty Images for Disney)<\/p>\n

Much of Disney\u2019s studio showcase focused on sequels of franchises past and present. \u201cRomy and Michele 2\u201d (2027) stars Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino showed up in character to tease their upcoming sequel to the much-loved 1997 original, proclaiming they were now Disney princesses. <\/p>\n

\u201cPrincess Diaries\u201d star Anne Hathaway made an appearance to reassure fans the team was hard at work to make sure \u201cPrincess Diaries 3\u201d was getting done right, while \u201cCamp Rock\u201d stars Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas came to plug \u201cCamp Rock 3\u201d and its new stars. A brief first-look teaser for the live action \u201cTangled\u201d (2028) concluded on a shot of Kathryn Hahn as Mother Gothel<\/a> calling out to Rapunzel, right before the \u201cAgatha All Along\u201d star took the stage. <\/p>\n

Even one of Disney\u2019s oldest characters is getting a revival, thanks to filmmaker Jon Favreau. The \u201cMandalorian and Grogu\u201d director shared a first look at his miniseries, \u201cOswald the Lucky Rabbit,\u201d a hybrid live-action and hand-drawn 2D animated show expected to hit Disney+ in February. <\/p>\n

On the animation side, Pixar\u2019s Pete Doctor came armed with news about \u201cIncredibles 3\u201d (2028) and \u201cCoco 2\u201d (2029), while Disney Animation\u2019s Jared Bush announced \u201cZootopia 3\u201d before turning it over to \u201cFrozen III\u201d (2027). <\/p>\n

According to Benjamin Bratt, who is returning to voice Ernesto de la Cruz, \u201cCoco 2\u201d is set some time in the future, where a teenage Miguel is sent back to the land of the dead for another adventure. \u201cFrozen III,\u201d meanwhile, will see Anna and Kristoff finally get married before the sisters meet a mysterious stranger who also wields ice magic. Olaf is also expected to find love. <\/p>\n

The event also featured teases for \u201cIce Age: Boiling Point\u201d (2027), \u201cThe Bluey Movie<\/a>\u201d (2027) and a \u201cKingdom Hearts\u201d anime series. <\/p>\n

But don\u2019t worry, Pixar and Disney are still making original movies \"a <\/p>\n

Billie Doe (Hailee Steinfeld) and Beef Roger Crummchuk (Walton Goggins) in \u201cHexed.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Disney)<\/p>\n

Fans of animated originals can rest assured that both Pixar and Disney Animation have new stories on the way. In addition to \u201cHexed,\u201d a magical coming-of-age adventure about a young girl named Billie who discovers she\u2019s a witch that will hit theaters Nov. 25, Disney Animation announced \u201cClay\u201d for 2028. According to Jared Bush, \u201cClay\u201d is a story about a mentor and student named Flip and Mushi. <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that new stories, new characters, new worlds are vital to the future of Disney Animation,\u201d said Bush. <\/p>\n

Pixar, meanwhile, announced \u201cGhost Market\u201d will hit theaters in 2028. Set in Hawaii, \u201cGhost Market\u201d will follow a young content creator named Kyle who encounters hungry ghosts. The studio also has \u201cGatto<\/a>,\u201d from \u201cLuca\u201d director Enrico Casarosa, on deck for 2027. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marvel\u2019s new X-Men are ready for their close-up \u2014 finally. The cast of the upcoming superhero film took…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[18920,276413,2398,156,8231,13503,2528,409,111,139,69,33752,40659,6926,19093,5433,2737,1797,249979,27328],"class_list":["post-570190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-cast","tag-d23","tag-disney","tag-entertainment","tag-event","tag-fan","tag-marvel","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pixar","tag-presentation","tag-season","tag-showcase","tag-stage","tag-star","tag-star-wars","tag-starfighter","tag-x-men"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}