STUDIOS BRING STAR POWER TO FAN MEET
LOS ANGELES: Avengers, Mary Poppins and Luke Skywalker brought star power to Walt Disney Co’s annual D23 fan convention on Saturday, as the studio drummed up excitement for upcoming films, including a live-action Lion King, Aladdin and Dumbo.
From Iron Man to Spider-Man, the cast of the upcoming ensemble Avengers: Infinity War gathered on stage for a superherosized selfie and debuted new footage for fans.
The May 2018 film, which Marvel studios President Kevin Feige said was the biggest production in the franchise, will unite Marvel superheroes from the last decade, including Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Panther and Doctor Strange, to battle intergalactic overload Thanos.
New scenes showed Thor being rescued by the Guardians of the Galaxy, teaming up with Iron Man and Doctor Strange in ravaged other-worldly landscapes where Loki wages destruction.
For the lead role in live-action Arabian tale Aladdin, Disney introduced newcomer Mena Massoud, after reports this week stated that the studio had trouble finding an actor of the right ethnicity. Naomi Scott will star as Princess Jasmine and Will Smith will play the Genie.
Upcoming films include writer-director Ava Duvernay’s starstudded reimagining of A Wrinkle In Time, Mary Poppins Returns, Mulan and Dumbo.
Fans on Saturday expecting a new trailer for the upcoming Star Wars: The Last Jedi were instead shown behind-thescenes footage that included scenes with the late Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia.
Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker, said the new film had “so many unexpected elements, which is great in a Star Wars film because it’s getting harder and harder to bring new things to the table”. Reuters