D23

While Disney might be holding back some of its best stuff for Comic-Con this year, that doesn’t mean there weren’t a few Star Wars: The Last Jedi teasers that they could share at this past weekend’s D23. Just yesterday, we were treated to a new featurette that went behind the scenes of the production; right on the heels of that comes these new character posters, a beautiful new mix of familiar faces and bright colors. It’s not exactly the brand new trailer that some were hoping for, but it should keep us occupied until the next opportunity presents itself.

They already unveiled the massive model of the Star Wars Land coming soon to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but today at Disney’s D23 convention, the Mouse House gave even more details about this expansion, coming some time in 2019. Most importantly, they gave the thing a name: Henceforth, it is officially called Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. (The name covers both the Disneyland and Disney World versions.) You will be forgiven if you continue to call it Star Wars Land.

It sounds like science-fiction. In a way, I suppose it still is. But it’s about to become real: A “100 percent immersive” Star Wars hotel. It’s coming in the near future (not a long time ago in this case) to Walt Disney World.

Tim Burton has officially begun production on his live-action version of Dumbo, the most depressing Disney movie of all time. (Okay, maybe that’s up for debate, but this movie wrecked me as a child.) We’ve heard rumors about the cast for a while now, from Colin Farrell to Danny DeVito and Michael Keaton, and they’re all true! The casting news, along with some plot details and an official release date was announced today during Disney’s live-action panel at the D23 Expo.

See some of the amazing ‘Star Wars’ magic that went down filming Episode VIII of the saga from the galaxy far, far away.

Pop quiz, hotshot: what does an actor do after he retires from one of the most iconic superhero roles of all time? Answer: anything he wants! Nobody would fault Hugh Jackman for spending the next several years drinking mojitos on the beach and packing on some of the pounds he was contractually obligated to keep off for the X-Men franchise, but it sounds like Jackman isn’t about to rest on his laurels anytime soon. The actor has been hinting at an upcoming Disney collaboration over the last day, sharing suggestive photos of himself at Disney parks, and now a hot new rumor seems to explain why.

Disney has announced who’ll be playing Aladdin and Jasmine opposite Will Smith’s Genie in their upcoming reboot of the beloved animated classic.

When a Hollywood studio decides to make a sequel to a much-beloved classic decades after its initial release, the overwhelming response is usually skepticism. It’s a testament to the incredible cast that Disney has assembled for Mary Poppins Returns, then, that most of the buzz around the film has been overwhelming excitement. From Emily Blunt’s Julie Andrews doppelgänger to Lin Manuel-Miranda’s chimney sweep - pretty much the part he was born to play, right? - Mary Poppins Returns is the exception that proves the rule, an unnecessary sequel that nevertheless melts away all skepticism.

We’ve been on the edge of our seats waiting for another look at Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time since those photos of Oprah, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling in costume dropped earlier this week. You can’t just give us rhinestone-eyebrowed, glittery lip-glossed Oprah and expect us to not ask for more. Luckily the film’s first official trailer arrived today during Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim.

Sometimes I feel like we don’t appreciate Mark Hamill enough. Oh, sure, we trot him out for any Star Wars or Batman events and allow him to shoot off bemused one-liners about his place in nerd culture, but that’s only part of what makes his celebrity so fascinating. Hamill has spent the past 40+ years hearing about a series of movies he made at the beginning of his career, and somehow, he has avoided becoming either jaded or entitled about his celebrity. When you ask Hamill to talk about Luke Skywalker, he comes across as both blunt and self-effacing without ever doing a discredit to the character or his importance to many. Something tells me that isn’t as easy as he makes it look.