Almost 20,000 fans at a California stadium have been given the first glimpse of the new Star Wars film, The Mandalorian & Grogu, in a star-packed presentation staged by the Hollywood studio Disney.
The “entertainment showcase” was the opening night blockbuster at Disney’s biannual D23 fan convention. Similar to Comic-Con, but wholly focused on Disney-owned assets such as Star Wars, Marvel and Frozen, D23 draws a crowd of almost 90,000 people over three days.
Pedro Pascal as The Mandalorian.Credit: Lucasfilm
In between announcements from the comic book studio Marvel and confirmation of two Frozen sequels, one of the most anticipated reveals at the convention was a glimpse at the new Star Wars movie, which began filming three weeks ago.
The convention screened the first footage from the film, which included scenes featuring Mando (Pedro Pascal), the Force-sensitive child Grogu, Imperial “snowtroopers” and giant “AT-AT Walkers”, which were both made iconic in the original trilogy Star Wars film, 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back. The reaction from the crowd was massive.
Unlike Comic-Con, which releases much of its preview and trailer material online straight after screening at the convention, D23 enforces a no-cameras policy and often keeps material screened at the showcase offline for as long as possible.
Lucasfilm also gave fans in-person previews of upcoming Star Wars television projects, the new series Skeleton Crew, starring Jude Law, and the second season of Andor.
Fans get the inside track on new Disney activity at the D23 convention.Credit: Getty Images for Disney
The Andor preview also confirmed, with on-set footage, that Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn will reprise his Rogue One character, Director Orson Krennic, in the second season.
If you needed a measure of the popularity of Star Wars in the company of the studio’s other assets, the appearance of Grogu – known in pop culture as “Baby Yoda” – elicited a massive cheer from the almost 18,000 fans who packed into the Honda Centre stadium.
The only louder cheer, accompanied by a standing ovation, was reserved for the company’s CEO Bob Iger. During Iger’s stewardship, the company’s fortunes have turned around significantly, with $US2 billion-plus hits this year, Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine.
Despite the teasers, however, Lucasfilm remains Disney’s problem child. Cautious since the creative missteps of the standalone Solo film and the final “sequel” trilogy in the Skywalker saga, the Star Wars movie slate remains frustratingly thin.
Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic in Rogue One.Credit: Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm has confirmed some new films in development, including a film starring Daisy Ridley’s character, Rey Skywalker (née Palpatine), directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and another, from James Mangold, titled The Dawn of the Jedi.
But many more have crashed in development hyperspace, including a Rogue One fighter squadron film from Patty Jenkins, an untitled Star Wars film from Marvel supremo Kevin Feige, a Boba Fett film from director Josh Trank, a Jabba the Hutt film from Guillermo Del Toro, and and a trilogy from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss
With Star Wars reveals put to one side, the Disney-owned animation studio Pixar confirmed a fifth Toy Story film was coming from veteran animation director Andrew Stanton, presented a preview of the upcoming animated science fiction film Elio and announced that a third film in The Incredibles franchise was in development.
Walt Disney Animation Studios boss Jennifer Lee confirmed Frozen III was in production, and all but confirmed it would be followed by Frozen IV. The questions in Anna and Elsa’s story would need two films to answer, she said.
Frozen III and IV are coming.Credit: Disney
“We are excited to be back in this world, and we would not have this opportunity if it were not for all of you,” Lee told the packed stadium.
The studio also brought the stars of its planned live-action Snow White, Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, onto the stage, followed by a preview of one of the story’s iconic songs, Whistle While You Work.
To get a sense of the scale of D23 as a marketing tool, Frozen III is slated for a 2027 release. Some titles, such as the Marvel series Agatha All Along, are due for imminent release. Other teased projects are years away.
The Marvel presentation included a number of announcements already made at Comic-Con in San Diego last month, including glimpses of Captain America: Brave New World, The Fantastic Four: First Steps and two new Avengers movies, Doomsday and Secret Wars. Footage from Agatha All Along was also screened.
Andrea Feale is dressed as Lego Darth Vader outside the D23 convention.Credit: AP
The stadium also saw performances by the casts of the Broadway productions of Disney-based musicals, including The Lion King and Frozen, and a glimpse of a proposed stage adaptation of The Greatest Showman, based on the 2017 film that starred Australian Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum.
Over the three-day D23 event, fans attend panels, screenings, “cosplay meetups”, step into immersive “activations” based on TV series and films, and pour truckloads of cash through retail stands.
D23 runs until Monday.