The Best Trailers From D23 Expo 2022: From The Little Mermaid To Secret Invasion

The D23 Expo: The Ultimate Fan Event kicked off its three-day festivities on Friday (Sept 9), with tons of new announcements, in-person appearances (shoot, we wish we had been there) and, of course, trailers. Here are some of the sneak previews released over the weekend.

Disenchanted

The long-awaited (overdue?) sequel to 2007’s fractured fairy tale Enchanted sees Giselle (Amy Adams) and Robert (Patrick Dempsey) summoning the magic of Andalasia to help them acclimatise their move from the big city to the ’burbs. Maya Rudolph plays the local queen bee giving her new neighbours a tough time. Original Enchanted stars James Marsden and Idina Menzel are back as well.

Where and when: Disney+, Nov 24

Hocus Pocus 2

Arriving just in time for Halloween is another better-late-than-never sequel — try 30 years! Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are reunited as the Sanderson Sisters, a trio of 17th century witches resurrected (again) to wreak havoc in modern-day Salem.

Where and when: Disney+, Sep 30

The Little Mermaid

Disney’s latest live-action remake of their animated classics stars Grammy-nominated R&B singer Halle Bailey (not Halle Berry, okay!) as mermaid princess Ariel who ventures on land searching for true love and independence. The soundtrack features familiar tunes by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman from the 1989 original as well as new ones co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Where and when: in cinemas, May 26  

The Mandalorian, Season 3

This is the way. Picking up from events of The Book of Boba Fett, Season 2 follows Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) as he goes on a quest alongside Grogu to visit “the living waters” under the planet Mandore in order to regain his honour and become a Mandalorian again. Christopher Lloyd is confirmed to guest-star in a top-secret role.

Where and when: Disney+, 2023

National Treasure: Edge of History

A 10-ep series spin-off of the Nicolas Cage-led movies starring Jess Valenzuela as a young woman who sets out on an adventure to discover the mystery of her lineage. Yes, it involves a lost treasure. Cage’s Benjamin Gates isn’t in the series (at least not that we know of) but his sidekick Riley (Justin Bartha) is.

Where and when: Disney+, Dec 14

Secret Invasion

This six-part limited series and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (in cinemas Feb 2023) will mark the star of Phase 5 for the MCU. After taking some time off in space (see Spider-Man: Far From Home), Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) returns to Earth to thwart a Skrull invasion. Ben Mendelsohn and Cobie Smulder reprise their respective roles of Talos and Maria Hill, with new MCU players Olivia Colman and Emilia Clarke.

Where and when: Disney+, 2023

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi

From the creators of The Bad Batch and The Clone Wars comes this limited series of six-part animated shorts featuring parables built around Jedi from the prequel era, told from the perspectives of Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku.

Where and when: Disney+, Oct 26

Werewolf by Night

Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Up) directs Marvel Studios’ first TV special. Shot like classic monster movies in black-and-white (complete with cigarette burn cue marks), it stars Gael Garcia Bernal as the title character, Jack Russell, aka Werewolf by Night. Guess what’s his superpower? 

Willow

Eight-part sequel to the Ron Howard-directed 1988 epic fantasy of the same name with Warwick Davis as the eponymous wizard, back to lead an unlikely group of heroes on a dangerous quest (it usually is) to save their world. Val Kilmer, who starred in the original, isn’t involved but his Madmartigan will be referenced by a new character played by Christian Slater. 

Where and when: Disney+, Nov 24

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Photos: Disney