By George Bate, Josh Bate, and Julie Catherine
The epic 180 minute Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios presentation at D23 Expo 2022 was arguably the highlight of the event, in large part due to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige’s enthusiasm for the slew of new projects coming soon to the MCU.
The presentation kicked off with a live performance of “I Can Do This All Day” from Rogers: The Musical, which appeared in the Disney+ series Hawkeye last year.
Here’s a breakdown of all the news and reveals from the Marvel Studios showcase.
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
First off was the sequel to Black Panther. Director and writer Ryan Coogler accompanied Kevin Feige on stage to talk about the new film releasing this November.
New footage of the movie was shown to the crowd. The footage focused on a United Nations meeting with Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda present. As nations critiqued Wakanda for not sharing its vibranium resources, Queen Ramonda turns the situation around by proving that other nations have tried to steal vibranium following the death of T’Challa.
Soon after, the cast of Wakanda Forever came on stage to discuss the new film. Winston Duke returns as M’Baku and said it’ll be interesting to see the state of Wakanda after Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters November 11, 2022.
IRONHEART
Ryan Coogler stayed on stage to introduce a new Disney+ series that the Black Panther sequel sets the stage for.
The audience was shown exclusive footage of Ironheart, which is currently filming in Chicago. The clip shows Riri Williams’ lead character building armor and facing off against Anthony Ramos’ The Hood. The footage also confirmed that Alden Ehrenreich, who played Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story, will appear in the series.
Ironheart will premiere on Disney+ in 2023.
ANT MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA
Next up was Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which will begin Phase 6 for the MCU. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Johnathan Majors joined Kevin Feige on stage and the conversation started exactly where people expected it to start…
Paul Rudd said the new film is “unlike anything we’ve seen” and called it “bananas.”
Footage shown at the presentation was the highlight of the Marvel Studios showcase. In the Ant Man sequel, the fame and fortune that came with saving the world in Avengers: Endgame has gone to Scott Lang’s head. The footage begins with a hilarious moment of Scott listening to his own audio book in the car, while his daughter, played by Kathryn Newton, questions what he’s doing.
The footage revealed that the Ant Man sequel will be a heist movie, as Kang needs Ant Man to steal something for him. Majors as the new MCU villain is haunting in the first look here.
Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters February 17, 2023.
WEREWOLF BY NIGHT
Long rumored, but not confirmed until now. Marvel Studios’ first Halloween special arrives this October. Michael Giacchino, the iconic composer behind The Batman, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and more, came on stage as he will direct Werewolf By Night.
The special stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly, who came on stage and joined their director.
The first trailer and poster can be seen below.
Werewolf By Night premieres October 7, 2022 on Disney+.
SECRET INVASION
Don Cheadle introduced new footage from Secret Invasion, which features confirmation that Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke and The Crown‘s Olivia Colman will be in the series. Martin Freeman is also back as Everett Ross.
Also returning are Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who seems to be the series’ main character, and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos.
Exclusive footage was shown to the crowd featuring Don Cheadle and Samuel L. Jackson’s characters speaking in an empty restaurant about the hidden threat.
The trailer can be seen below.
Secret Invasion will stream on Disney+ in 2023.
ARMOR WARS
Secret Invasion will lead into Armor Wars, a new series starring Don Cheadle as James Rhoades / War Machine.
The series hasn’t started filming yet, but Feige said it will focus on what happens when Stark technology gets in the wrong hands. It will seemingly be based on the 1980s comic series of the same name. Cheadle confirmed the series will have six episodes.
Armor Wars streams on Disney+ in 2024
LOKI
Tom Hiddleston arrived on stage to rousing reception to officially announce the second season of Loki is in production.
Hiddleston was joined by Owen Wilson, Sophie Di Martino, and Ke Huy Quan. Quan is a series newcomer and is best known for his role as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and, more recently, Waymond Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Hiddleston confirmed the new season will pick up from last season’s cliffhanger, in which Loki is back at the TVA and others have no knowledge of who he is.
Footage presented exclusively to the D23 crowd showed three Lokis working in collaboration, a 1970s setting for a portion of the show, and Kang the Conqueror looming large over everything.
Loki Season 2 will consist of 6 episodes that begin streaming in 2023 on Disney+.
FANTASTIC FOUR
Kevin Feige made an explicit point to note that there will be no Fantastic Four news at D23, much to the surprise of some fans. However, Matt Shakman was in the crowd and Feige confirmed the WandaVision director will helm Fantastic Four.
ECHO
First introduced to the MCU in Hawkeye, Maya Lopez will lead her own series, which is currently in production. Alaqua Cox, who plays Maya Lopez / Echo, was accompanied on stage by fellow cast members Chaske Spencer, Graham Greene, Devery Jacobs, and Vincent D’Onofrio. The latter reprises his role as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin, who is seen wearing an eye patch in footage shown at D23.
Cox spoke about the series saying, “What a journey this has been. This is only the second role I’ve ever had. This is such an amazing feeling. To only be my second lead. It’s great.”
Echo beautifully embraces Indigenous culture as shown by the footage and the sentiments relayed by the series’ cast.
Echo will stream on Disney+ in 2023.
DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN
Vincent D’Onofrio stayed on stage to talk about his “other show.” Suddenly, Charlie Cox arrived on stage crying, “Your show?!”
As announced at San Diego Comic Con, Cox and D’Onofrio will play Daredevil and Kingpin again respectively in a new series hitting Disney+. Netflix’s Daredevil remains one of the most acclaimed Marvel projects and the new series Daredevil: Born Again will hope to continue that success.
To give fans a little Daredevil to hold them over, a scene from an upcoming episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law featuring Charlie Cox as Daredevil was shown to the crowd.
Daredevil: Born Again has not started production yet and will stream in 2024 on Disney+.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: NEW WORLD ORDER
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier left things off with Anthony Mackie firmly picking up the shield and taking on the mantle of Captain America. Now, a fourth Captain America film is in development with Mackie as the lead.
The Cloverfield Paradox director Julius Onah was joined on stage by Mackie and some of the supporting cast, including Danny Ramirez, Carl Lumbly, Shira Haas, and Tim Blake Nelson, who last appeared in the MCU in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Nelson will play the villain The Leader, while Ramirez and Lumbly reprise their roles from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Haas will play Israeli hero Sabra.
Captain America: New World Order will hit theaters on May 3, 2024.
THUNDERBOLTS
The Avengers isn’t the only Marvel team now. Thunderbolts, a new MCU movie focusing on a team of anti-heroes / supervillains, is coming soon. The full team was announced at D23, which includes Julie Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Florence Pugh as Yelena, David Harbor as Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes.
When talking about reprising her role as Val, Louis-Dreyfus joked that Feige convinced her to join the MCU the second she knew her character’s name would include “Contessa.”
Harbor will reprise his scene-stealing role from Black Widow and said he’s looking forward to teaming up with his “beloved Yelena” again.
Florence Pugh couldn’t be in attendance, but filmed a video speaking to the D23 crowd about how excited she is to lead the Thunderbolts.
Although production hasn’t started, concept art of the team together was shown at D23.
Thunderbolts hits theaters July 26, 2024.
THE MARVELS
Last, but not least, was The Marvels. The new film stars Brie Larson, Tayonah Parris, and Iman Vellani all returning as Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, Kamala Kahn respectively.
A new trailer of The Marvels was shown to the excited D23 crowd. The footage picks up at the end of Ms. Marvel, which featured Larson’s Captain Marvel making a cameo appearance. In the trailer, the three women are seen arguing, bonding, and fighting enemies together. Goose the cat, famous for taking Nick Fury’s eye in Captain Marvel, is also back!
Vellani joked, “I’m having trouble breathing today!” as she was in awe of the D23 crowd.
Kevin Feige responded by saying, “She’s a bigger fan than all of you and we regret it only slightly. I can’t tell you about it, but it’s incredible. I had such an incredible time with these beautiful women. I learned so much inside and out.”
The Marvels hits theaters July 28, 2023.