Disney Investor Day and Game Awards Recap

I don’t even know where to begin. Last Thursday was a massive day for announcements between Disney’s year end Investor Day and The Video Game Awards, there was nothing short of an avalanche of information and announcements yesterday. I will write just about what stuck out to me during this deluge of information otherwise this article would be more of a small novella.

Star Wars:

While technically a “Lucasfilm” presentation I was mostly transfixed with the massive expansion to the Star Wars universe yesterday. Sure Indiana Jones 5 and TITLE were also annouced the 10 Star Wars series and film annoucements greatly overshadowed them. Here’s what stuck out to me the most:

• Hayden Christensen returning as Vader for Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s odd to say I’m excited for his return but I’m excited to see Christensen prove the writing not his acting was to blame for some of his lack-luster moments in the prequels (it’ll be interesting to see if James Earl Jones will still voice him in helmet though).

• Lando series by Dear White People director/producer Justin Simien (unless they didn’t get Donald Glover or Billy Dee Williams back then count me out).

• The Acolyte (A series set during the High Republic with a Sith plotline? Yeah I’m in).

• Rogue Squadron film directed by Patty Jenkins due out Dec. 2023.

• Star Wars: Visions, truth time here I’m not an anime guy never really got it but to see Star Wars anime shorts created by anime studios opens the door for some truly unique and fun opportunities.

While other announcements like the Bad Batch, Mando spinoffs Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic, and Andor are also promising I need to see more before I can definitively say I’m excited for them yet or not.

Marvel:

Since the announcement of Disney+ we knew new Marvel content was coming to the platform. While WanadaVision is right around the corner we’ve yet to see if the MCU will translate well to streaming since the cancellation of the Netflix Marvel shows. Another huge group of films and shows, here’s what I’m looking out for the most:

• Loki. While at first I wasn’t sold (I’m not a Hiddleston Stan sue me) the teaser makes the show look far more interesting than the fangirl romp I was expecting (did they make a B.D. Cooper reference in the trailer?)

• What If? I’m a sucker for an alternate history or universe story and What If? looks like it’s going to deliver solid and interesting stories. The opportunities for this show are endless and anything can happen.

• Not recasting T’Challa in Black Panther 2 in honor of Chadwick Boseman. I think Disney would have faced HUGE backlash if they had but it’s nice to know Boseman will be honored in this way. He poured his soul into T’Challa and other roles while undergoing chemotherapy, it’s nice to know that they would just sweep him under the rug. I’m interested to see who will take up the mantle and how they address losing him (Shuri right or maybe Okoye training her?).

• Fantastic Four. While it was only a matter of time it’s nice to have official word that the MCU is welcoming the first family of comics back. Jon Watts has done well handling the mess that has been the Sony/Marvel partnership with Spider-Man and made two fun and enjoyable films, I’m excited to see if the Fantastic Four can finally get a quality introduction (also Doctor Doom is totally the next Thanos-level threat right? Please?).

• Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel 2. Bringing Kamala Khan to the MCU is going to be a fun ride. She’s a great character and I’m glad to see the attention she’s getting beyond the comics. Furthermore I think directly connecting the series to Captain Marvel 2 is a great way bring her into the films without having to take up screen time explaining who she is.

Honestly I don’t think there was anything movie or series out of the Marvel presentation that I’m not going to at least give a chance. Honestly this presentation made me miss going to movie theaters more than anything. While Marvel fatigue is definitely real (and easily could return) I truly miss running to see the latest Marvel film and over explaining and theorizing it on the drive home.

Disney & Pixar:

While Disney and Pixar where two different presentations, I found it hard to separate the two. While there where some fun announcements, nothing really jumped out at me enough to justify two different lists. Here’s what the House of Mouse and Pixar peaked my interest on:

• Encanto. While nearly next to nothing was shown off in the teaser, music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and set in Columbia has me excited to see what’s in store for this film.

• Lightyear. The origin story for Buzz Lightyear and voiced by Chris Evans? Yeah I’ll bite.

• Win or Lose. While this one seems kind of high risk I enjoy the concept that each episode will be from a different member of the softball team. The different perspectives approach at least has me curious.

• Tiana. I truly miss classic 2D Disney animation. Princess and Frog was a fun film with great music I’m curious to see how they develop it into a series (just please leave Tiana in 2D, I get it kids like 3D Animation and it’s cheaper but you built your Kingdom on 2D).

• Live-Action Pinocchio. While the live-action Disney remakes have been kinda of hit or miss this is a Disney classic that I hope a younger audience will see and enjoy. The film gave us Disney’s unofficial theme When You Wish Upon a Star and having Tom Hanks on board (I’m hoping for Geppetto?) I think shows that they’re going to due the film justice (Disney if you need a cat for live-action Figaro my cat looks exactly like him. Have your people call her people).

The rest? I could honestly take or leave. While there was some fun returns for franchises and new adventures announced nothing beyond the above really jumped out at me but that doesn’t mean they won’t be worth a watch later.

Video Game Awards:

In the midst of all the Disney announcements and trailers, The Video Game Awards were also awarding winners and dropping announcements of their own. I’m not going to get into the actually winners of the awards but here’s the announcements that interested me:

• Sephiroth in Smash. While we knew the next Smash fighter was going to announced at the awards very few thought we’d see the one-winged angel join the roster. The trailer was fun and hinted at some unique mechanics and possibly updates to Cloud as well. I’m still surprised that he’s joining the cast after Square’s unwillingness to give over much Final Fantasy content for Ultimate but here’s hoping that will change now with his addition (Also I seriously thought he impaled Mario in the trailer).

• Perfect Dark is back. It’s been ten years since we’ve seen a Perfect Dark game so I, like most people had assumed that Joanna Dark had called it quits. Seeing Microsoft give the IP another chance and the next-gen visuals (pre-rendered for the trailer of course) is promising. Maybe it’ll inspire them to revisit another class Rare title…please?

• New Mass Effect. I’m sure the reaction to this trailer was mixed with as much love as it was hate. Mass Effect 3 was arguably one of the most decisive games of the 2010s because of the god awful ending. Bioware has a MASSIVE task ahead of them to undo the damage the ending did to a formerly beloved franchise. I’m excited to see what they do (hopefully they learn from Andromeda…oh god this could be bad).

• Dragon Age. Bioware really had a good night announcement wise, in addition to a return to Mass Effect they also dropped the first look at the next Dragon Age. While it definitely doesn’t feel like it, it’s been six years since Inquisition. From the look of the trailer this is a new story that I’m excited to see what they come up with.

• Road 96. I’m a sucker for a game with multiple paths and endings. Road 96 looks like it’s goal is to deliver exactly that. This new title is based around the idea of who can you trust on your way to the boarder to escape a totalitarian regime looks to deliver some very interesting storytelling. I’m excited to see where it goes.

There was a ton announced at the awards, this list honestly could have been longer but these were the gems to me. Other announcements fell short or I’ll need more info on to truly care more. I can say it was a big year for guest character announcements though (at this point I’m not entirely sure I’m not a Fortnite character).

Others (but really just FX):

And finally the other guys. Disney at this point owns about half of all entertainment so there was a ton of stuff that didn’t fit elsewhere. National Geographic had some interesting options as well as ESPN but for my list it’s really just FX but anyway here’s the rest of group:

• Alien series. Basically Disney is using FX & Hulu to do it’s dark stuff and nothing highlighted that more than the Alien series announcement. I’m a fan of the franchise and I’m excited to the Sci-Fi Horror come to the small screen. Taking place on Earth in the distant future no less will be an interesting look at how the Xenomorphs will adapt and let’s be honest destroy our funky little planet. Additionally by pointing out they took inspiration from the Horror of Alien and the Action of Aliens they at least know which films are the good ones (that’s sadly a start).

• Four more seasons of It’s Always Sunny. To be honest I didn’t think I would like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the first couple of seasons are a slow burn and arguable hard to watch now but unlike most long running series the show has adapted with the times. The gang while still not great people have learned from the past and even when the line of appropriateness is crossed it’s at their expense. Simply put the show has oddly matured while remaining funny, I’m glad to see that it will become the longest running live-action sitcom before they wrap.

• Shogun. While I have not read the novels the series will be based off of the Shogun series has me very intrigued. FX does a decent job of it’s period pieces (primarily the wild west so far) so I’m excited to see how they handle feudal Japan. Listen if you say a Game of Thrones style series in feudal Japan I’m at least going to watch the first few episodes.

• American Horror Stories. I’m going to level with you (get your torches and pitchforks ready) I don’t really care about American Horror Story. I’m here for the Horror series but from what I’ve seen from the in consistency of seasons and the sometimes interconnectedness I’m just not down to get into it. However American Horror Stories as one-off Twilight Zone like episodes I’m interested. Honestly this was a smart move from FX since fans of the franchise generally argue about which seasons are good and which suck now if a premise or cast are boring to you just wait till the next episode drops.

• The Stones. Look say what you will about biopics but FX is opening the door into interesting territory with The Stones. I know it isn’t the first bioseries covering a music group but with the budget that FX and Disney have it might be the first to do it justice. A whole two seasons (so far) following The Rolling Stones? If done well this could be a great way to cover huge moments from great artists without having to cram all of it into a two hour movie. When you have decades of stories and songs like the Stones do honestly a film isn’t enough time to tell their story properly. This one is a risk, you have to cast right, pick the right stories and get the band’s blessing as much as possible but if they pull it off expect a huge wave of these shows to start popping up (a Beatles series would probably break me in half).

So there it is a little bit of everything. I’m sure as these films, games and series are developed I’ll be writing about them more but if nothing else we learned last week that there is a TON of entertainment coming in the next few years.