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D23 Expo: The Biggest Trailers and News from the Disney Studios and Pixar Panel

Check out trailers for Disenchanted, The Little Mermaid, and first looks at Inside Out 2, Mufasa, and more.

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Megan Vick, Lauren Piester

After three years away, the D23 Expo finally returned to Anaheim, California. The first major panel of the Expo took place on Friday with Disney Studios, Disney Animation, and Pixar all updating fans on their latest and upcoming projects, including Hocus Pocus 2, Disenchanted, The Little Mermaid, Elemental, and more. 

First looks were provided for previously announced projects like Haunted Mansion and Peter Pan & Wendy, but it wouldn't be a D23 Expo panel without some new stuff thrown in the mix. Barry Jenkins arrived to set up Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel to the '90s classic that will take a deep dive into the story of Simba's murdered father. Pixar surprised fans with the news that Inside Out 2 will be coming in 2024, with Amy Poehler reprising her role as Joy and hanging out with new emotions inside a teenage Riley's head. 

That is just the tip of the iceberg. Check all of the biggest news and trailers from the over two-hour, non-stop panel below. 

Hocus Pocus 2

No one from the cast of Hocus Pocus 2 was in-person for the presentation, but the crowd inside the Expo arena was treated to a full-length trailer for the highly anticipated sequel, which premieres exclusively on Disney+ on September 30. When one of them lights the Black Flame Candle on their sixteenth birthday, two new teenagers must protect Salem from everyone's favorite trio of children-hating witches. Chaos, zombies, and magic battles in Target ensue! 

Disenchanted

Jayma Mays, Yvette Nicole Brown, Idina Menzel, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Gabriella Baldacchino, Maya Rudolph, and Amy Adams all appeared on stage to present the first official trailer for Disenchanted, the follow-up to the 2007 beloved rom-com Enchanted. In the new film, Adams' character Giselle is going through a rough time trying to settle into a new home with her husband, teenage stepdaughter, and a young baby. To make things easier, she wishes for a fairy tale life, only to find herself transformed into a wicked stepmother, and it only gets worse from there.

Peter Pan & Wendy

It's time to go back to Neverland! This time Jude Law plays the formidable Captain Hook, Alexander Molony is Peter Pan, Ever Anderson plays Wendy, and Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lily. The cast appeared on stage in Anaheim to give a little insight into the latest adaptation of the famous J.M. Barrie story. 

"We got to mine their backstory a little more, you understand a little more about their past, a past where they were possibly once friends, there's still a great rivalry and a great physical rivalry, the fighting and the familiarity of fighting, gamesmanship is present," Law explained to the crowd. "For me, playing the good guy, it was nice to finally lay in that understanding of why and how Captain Hook is so iconic." 

The room was also treated to a sneak peek of Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell, but the internet received the official poster for the film, which will debut on Disney+ in 2023. 

Haunted Mansion

Disney continues the tradition of creating films based on iconic theme park rides with one of the most iconic of all time – The Haunted Mansion. Dear White People creator Justin Simien directs the creepy comedy that stars Rosario Dawson as a young mom who recruits a group of supernatural experts to help get rid of the ghost in her and her son's new home. The first trailer also revealed cameos from Winona Ryder, Dan Levy, and Hasan Minhaj. 

"For me, it was like there was something about that ride that was just there in the script, funny and filled with interesting characters but with a dark edge," Simien told the crowd before unveiling the trailer. "I related to it, I felt like I knew how to make it. I felt like I understood New Orleans, and I'm a fanboy so I understand the ride, gotta make sure the details, the easter eggs are there." 

The presentation ended with horror movie queen Jamie Lee Curtis arriving on stage via doom buggy to announce she is playing Madame Leota in the film.

The film will premiere in 2023. 

Mufasa: The Lion King 

Fans will get to spend some time with one of Disney's most beloved dead parents. Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins directs the prequel film to The Lion King, which depicts "the origin story of one of the greatest kings in the history of the Pridelands, a story told in two different time frames." The preview shown at the Expo revealed Rafiki, Timon, and Pumba relaying the story of Mufasa, who was actually an orphaned cub who grew up to be king, to a young lion. 

"I had to make this movie because when I was 14, I was helping to raise two nephews, and there was a VHS tape we watched 20 times in two days. I really knew this character. Mufasa is who he is because of the family and friends he has with him," Jenkins explained. 

Mufasa: The Lion King arrives in 2024. 

Snow White

The first Disney princess is getting her own live-action adaptation with West Side Story's Rachel Zegler playing the titular princess and Gal Gadot playing the Evil Queen. Both Zegler and Gadot were in Anaheim to tease the film for fans in the audience. The film will feature new technology and even the stars aren't sure what the movie is going to look like when it's finished, even though production wrapped earlier in 2022. There's also new music from the award-winning duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul to truly help bring the musical into the modern day. 

Snow White premieres in theaters in 2024.

The Little Mermaid 

Next, we went from the Enchanted Forest to under the sea to meet Halle Bailey's Ariel. The crowd in the D23 Expo arena was able to watch Bailey's full performance of "Part of Your World," but a teaser trailer featuring a snippet of the song was released for audiences everywhere.

Director Rob Marshall was on hand to introduce the film and explained that the original Little Mermaid saved Disney Animation from the brink of collapse. To capture that same emotional impact, he asked Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda to write four new songs for the film, which will accompany Howard Ashman's original score. 

"Getting this film, working with Rob is such a dream come true for me, I mean I'm sure all of you can relate to Ariel and how special she is to all of us," Bailey told the crowd when she joined Marshall on stage. "Being a little girl swimming in the pool imagining I was a mermaid, I never thought I would see that come to life, I'm just really grateful to be here in front of you all. ... That three days of filming Part of Your World, I think that sequence was the most beautiful experience of my life, really, feeling all the feelings she feels, her passion, her discomfort, everything that she was experiencing, having Rob direct me and being such a moving force in this film." 

The Little Mermaid comes to theaters in May 2023.

Elemental 

The next Pixar film will be a bit of a science lesson. Elemental explores what happens when elements get together via Ember (Leah Lewis) and Wade (Mamoudou Athie). The first look at the new characters was revealed at D23 Expo as well as a poster, revealing that the movie will be arriving in theaters on June 16, 2023. 

Win or Lose

Pixar is making its first full-length TV show, centered on a coed middle school softball team called The Pickles. Each episode will be from a different character's perspective and will take place during the same week leading up to the big game. It was announced that Will Forte will be voicing Coach Dan. Check out the first look image below. The series will arrive on Disney+ in 2024.

Elio

The D23 Expo also unveiled a look at Elio, coming in the spring of 2024. The film is about an 11-year-old kid who accidentally becomes Earth's representative to an intergalactic United Nations after sneaking around his mother's top secret military project. Cast members America Ferrera and Yonas Kibreab, who plays the eponymous Elio, were on stage to show off a first look at the movie. 

Elio arrives in theaters in 2024.

Inside Out 2

Pixar concluded its portion of the studio panel with the announcement that Inside Out 2 is officially in the works. Amy Poehler was on hand to confirm she will be playing Joy, and the sequel will still be taking place in Riley's head, except now the protagonist is a full-blown teenager. Poehler also teased that there will be new emotions hanging out at the console. 

Inside Out 2 is scheduled to hit theaters in summer 2024.

Iwájú

Iwájú is the first result of Disney's partnership with the African comic book company Kugali and is a love letter to Lagos, Nigeria. The show will take a futuristic look at Lagos, an island and mainland city separated by both water and socioeconomic status. The series will center on Tola, a young girl from the wealthy island part of the city, and Kole, who is from the poorer mainland. The pair must team up to defeat Bode, the leader of an underground criminal empire. 

The series will premiere in 2023.

Strange World

Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, Jaboukie Young-White, and Lucy Liu will all lend their voices to a new film from directors Don Hall and Qui Nguyen, about a father and son (Gyllenhaal and Young-White) who get transported to a mysterious new world where they discover Gyllenhaal's character's legendary father (Quaid), who had gone missing decades earlier. Together, the trio must find a way to get home with help from Lucy Liu's character. 

Strange World arrives in theaters this Thanksgiving. 

Wish

The D23 Disney Studios panel began with Cynthia Erivo singing "When You Wish Upon a Star," and the final film presented was a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Disney and inspired by the Disney legacy. Wish centers on 17-year-old Asha (Ariana DeBose) who makes a wish for guidance to fight the darkness taking over her town and gets help from a star. Alan Tudyk voices Valentino, a goat in pajamas who is granted a wish by the star to be able to communicate. The movie is a musical and features songs written by pop songstress Julia Michaels. 

Wish premieres during Thanksgiving 2023.