Superfans flock to D23. What we hope to see Bryan Alexander
Legends, ‘Wrinkle,’ Solo and ‘Incredibles’ all get our attention
D23 Expo doesn’t inspire full-on fan mania with its dry title, taken from the Walt Disney Co.’s official fan club. (“D” is for Disney; “23” is 1923, the year the company originated.)
But Disney’s biennial conference (Friday through Sunday) has turned into a must-attend event for passionate fans.
“With Disney’s properties growing exponentially, the Disney movie fanbase is also growing, and the D23 Expo has exploded with that,” says Erik Davis, managing editor of Fandango.com.
Disney is mum about reveals. But here are five burning questions before D23 begins.
Q How weepy will the Legends ceremony get?
Friday morning ’s Disney Legends Award ceremony was already destined to be a touching event, with Carrie Fisher slated for induction alongside her Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill, Oprah Winfrey and beloved director Garry Marshall (who died last summer).
Piling on the emotion: Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee will be honored barely a week after losing his wife of 69 years, Joan.
Q Will the Han Solo project get a PR boost?
In a rare disturbance in the Disney universe, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were cut loose last month from the untitled Han Solo movie. Ron Howard will complete the project.
Disney will need to show that this house is in order when it faces fans Saturday for Lucasfilm’s presentation.
Q Will we finally see something Incredibles?
Animation giant Pixar will highlight its upcoming releases, including Coco (in theaters Nov. 22) and Toy Story 4 (2019). But expectant eyes will be on director Brad Bird’s The Incredibles 2 (June 15, 2018), which has been in production for two years but shared only concept art.
Q How will Wrinkle look?
Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 fantasy novel A Wrinkle in
Time is a daunting concept to translate to the screen. Director Ava DuVernay has just wrapped shooting and confirmed that D23 will show the first trailer.
Q Will Marvel start a Civil War? Marvel will dominate ComicCon (July 20 to 23) in San Diego. To keep both sets of fans happy, the studio will need to give D23ers love with reveals from Thor: Ragnarok (Nov. 3), Black Panther (Feb 16, 2018) or Avengers: Infinity War (May 4, 2018).