ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Disney teased upcoming movies and television series including “Moana 2” in a rousing showcase featuring sneak peaks, live performances and surprise appearances from actors.
Fans at Disney’s D23 convention welcomed CEO Bob Iger with a standing ovation Friday at the top of the showcase, where he said he was eager to show off glimpses of their upcoming projects to “both the young and, as we like to say, the young at heart.
“The world needs to be entertained maybe even more so now than ever before and we take that responsibility seriously,” he said.
In the evening’s first surprise, Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson of “Moana” jolted the crowd of over 15,000 at the Honda Center with a performance of a song featuring drummers and dancers in costumes styled after the beloved animated movie.
Both actors are reprising their roles as Moana and Maui, respectively, in “Moana 2,” which is set to hit theaters Nov. 27. Before showing an extended sneak peak of the film, Johnson said that working on the films has been special to him, noting that his daughters, who are 6 and 8 years old, were in the crowd.
Johnson also announced that he’d be continuing his long-running work on Disney projects to create a “Monster Jam” live-action movie. The studio did not announce any updates to Johnson’s other Disney project, the live-action “Moana,” that is in development.
Director James Cameron and actors Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington reunited on stage to share new information about the third installment of “Avatar.” They announced the official title, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and shared concept art that shows new glimpses of Pandora. Cameron said the film was too early in the production phase to show clips.
“The new film is not what you expect, but it’s definitely what you want,” said Cameron, who will be bestowed “Disney Legends” status in a ceremony to close out D23 on Sunday.
