Los Angeles Times - 26.08.2019

LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2019E3

DISNEY D23

Kamala Khan, Jennifer
Walters and Marc Spector
are headed for the MCU.
During the Marvel por-
tion of the Disney+ panel at
the D23 Expo at the Ana-
heim Convention Center on
Friday, Marvel Studios head
Kevin Feige announced
three new shows that are
headed for the upcoming
streaming platform.
“Ms. Marvel,” “She-Hulk”
and “Moon Knight” will join
the previously announced
lineup of the Marvel Cin-
ematic Universe’s Phase 4
shows created for Disney+.
The new streaming service
rolls out Nov. 12.
No specifics other than
the titles were revealed dur-
ing the presentation, but the
capacity crowd greeted the
news with cheers.
In the comics, Kamala
Khan is a Muslim, Pakistani
American teenager from
Jersey City who one day dis-
covers that she has gained
superpowers. She takes over
the mantle of Ms. Marvel af-
ter Carol Danvers becomes
Captain Marvel and works
to keep her New Jersey
neighborhood safe.
“Bruce Banner is not the
only Hulk,” Feige said before

debuting a promo of “She-

Hulk.” An emergency blood

transfusion from her cousin

Banner is how Jennifer Wal-

ters gains her superpowers,

according to her comic book

backstory. But unlike Ban-

ner, transforming into her

Hulk form does not make

Jen lose control. Not only is

she a superhero but She-

Hulk is also an attorney —

and the brief teaser of the

announcement included a

look at Lady Justice.

In the comics, “Moon

Knight’s” Marc Spector is a

mercenary with a question-

able moral compass, and

he operates much like a

cloaked avenger. At times,

he has been affiliated with

the Avengers.

— Tracy Brown

Roaring back to

theaters in 2022

After Marvel blew the

roof off Comic-Con 2019 with

an epic panel, there wasn’t a

whole lot left to reveal at

D23. Or so we thought ....

Saturday’s presentation

began with Marvel Presi-

dent Kevin Feige and “Black

Panther” director Ryan

Coogler announcing that

the mega-hit’s much-antici-

pated sequel would open

May 6, 2022. (The first film

opened Feb. 16, 2018.)

That will put it in thea-

ters after “Black Widow”

(May 1, 2020), “The Eter-

nals” (Nov. 6, 2020), “Shang

Chi and the Legend of the

Ten Rings” (Feb. 12, 2021),

“Doctor Strange in the Mul-

tiverse of Madness” (May 7,

2021), “Thor: Love and

Thunder” (Nov. 5, 2021) and

a still to be announced Mar-

vel project out Feb. 18, 2022.

“We’re really hard at work

on it, trying to give you

something special,” Coogler

said. “A lot of people are

really excited about it. We’re

definitely not taking our

time with this one. We just

really want it to be right.”

The Marvel panel also

brought out the full cast

of “The Eternals,” including

previously announced stars

Angelina Jolie as “fierce war-

rior Thena” and Salma Ha-

yek as “wise and spiritual

leader Ajak” and new addi-

tions Kit Harington as non-

Eternal Dane Whitman, the

second “Game of Thrones”

cast member to join the en-

semble following Richard

Madden as the all-powerful

Ikaris, and “Captain Mar-

vel” costar Gemma Chan,

who appears to be playing a

different MCU character,

the humankind-loving Sersi.

And finally, Marvel re-

vealed a first look at Scarlett

Johansson’s much-awaited

solo “Black Widow” film,

currently in production. Jo-

hansson and costars Flor-

ence Pugh and David Har-

bour were not on hand be-

cause of filming commit-

ments, but they sent a taped

introduction to a footage

reel.

— Ashley Lee

What’s next

for Jedi master?

Ewan McGregor will be

donning his Jedi robes once

again, reprising his role as

Obi-Wan Kenobi for an up-

coming Disney+ series.

The news was announced

Friday during the Disney+

panel at the D23 Expo, fol-

lowing buzz this month that

McGregor was reportedly

in talks for an unnamed

“Star Wars” project headed

for the streaming service.

“After secrets and fibs

and not being able to talk

about it, I am thrilled to be

able to bring out a beloved

member of the ‘Star Wars’

family,” LucasFilm chief

Kathleen Kennedy said, wel-

coming McGregor to the

stage.

“Ewan, are you going

to play Obi-Wan Kenobi

again?” Kennedy asked

after being prompted by the

actor.

“Yes,” he responded, and

the audience cheered.

All the scripts are writ-

ten, and they are ready to

start shooting next year,

Kennedy said.

McGregor portrayed the

younger version of the Jedi

master in the “Star Wars”

prequel series (“The Phan-

tom Menace,” “Attack of the

Clones” and “Revenge of

the Sith”), where Kenobi

meets and then trains

Anakin Skywalker in the

ways of the Jedi before the

rise of the Empire. McGre-

gor also made a voice-only

cameo as the character in

“The Force Awakens.”

The Disney+ series will

take place between the

events of “Revenge of the

Sith” and “A New Hope.”

McGregor had said that

he would be “happy to play

him again” amid rumors and

reports of Obi-Wan Kenobi-

related projects, including a

standalone film reportedly

in development with

Stephen Daldry attached to

direct that was put on hold a

couple years ago.

— Tracy Brown

Disney+ adds

to MCU lineup

“BLACK PANTHER”fans, mark your calendars now for sequel out May 6, 2022.

Film Frame / Marvel Studios

ROUNDUP

the D23 Expo. Such a num-
ber illustrates the vital role
Disney plays in shaping our
cultural narrative.
But the company that
once re-created an African
savanna in Animal Kingdom
or a park dedicated to scien-
ce, technology, American in-
dustry and global culture in
Epcot is looking more in-
ward when it comes to its
theme parks in 2019. New
projects discussed and an-
nounced on Sunday that are
coming to Disneyland in An-
aheim and Walt Disney
World in Orlando, Fla., fo-
cused almost exclusively on
maximizing properties that
can also live in the multiplex
and, eventually, the upcom-
ing streaming subscription
service Disney+.
“We’re putting in more
Disney, more Pixar, more
Marvel and more ‘Star Wars’
into our parks,” Chapek
said. “Every live show and
spectacular should bring
your favorite stories to life in
thrilling ways.”
But when everything is
Disney, Pixar, Marvel and
“Star Wars,” are we at risk of
someday losing the “theme”
in our theme parks? Lands
such as Galaxy’s Edge, cur-
rently open at Disneyland
and launching in days at Dis-
ney’s Hollywood Studios in
Florida, are identical lands
that exist in parks built on
vastly different mission
statements, the latter once
dedicated to the how-to of
movie-making. The big re-
veal at D23 Expo this year
was Avengers Campus,
which will exist as separate
but connected lands in Dis-
ney California Adventure in
Anaheim as well as Disney
resorts in Paris and Hong
Kong.
“What we hear from liter-
ally millions of our guests is
that they want more ways to
experience their favorite sto-
ries,” Chapek said. Yet fans
sampled after the parks-fo-
cused panel discussion ex-
pressed a more nuanced
range of emotions and one
that could probably best be
summed up as cautious op-
timism, especially when it
comes to what’s considered
a long overdue transforma-
tion of Epcot.
The Florida park, espe-
cially its Future World, once
relied heavily on corporate
sponsorships and also suf-
fered from having its crystal
ball become outdated faster
than Disney could refresh it.
Yet the park is beloved
among Disney fans in part
because it was inspired by
the final wishes of Walt Dis-
ney and was ultimately
structured more on origi-
nality than Disney brands,
its mascot essentially a pur-
ple dragon named Figment
who may not be recogniz-
able to those who didn’t
grow up with the park.
There was no news Sun-
day on Figment and the
Journey into Imagination
ride the character leads, but
fans did learn of a “Moana”-

inspired walk-through expe-

rience dedicated to the

majesty of water, a “Guard-

ians of the Galaxy” rotating

coaster dubbed Cosmic

Rewind and a re-imaginat-

ing of Spaceship Earth, one

that will focus on story-

telling through the ages

rather than human connec-

tivity and advances in com-

munication. There was also

the surprising reveal of a

“Mary Poppins” attraction

coming to the United King-

dom pavilion in the World

Showcase, joining a previ-

ously announced “Rata-

touille” ride opening next

year in the France exhib-

ition.

Yet Disney theme parks

are many things to many

people, and any change is at

risk of swiping something

that someone holds dear.

“I’m a little nervous that Fig-

ment, or, you know, the

‘Three Caballeros,’ who are

my favorite, might disap-

pear and they won’t tell us

till it’s gone,” said Willy Don-

ica, 33, from Burbank, refer-

encing the boat ride in the

Mexico pavilion themed to

the “Three Caballeros” that

itself was a refresh of a ride

that didn’t originally boast

Disney characters.

Others wondered if the

emphasis on blockbuster

franchises — intellectual

property or “IP” in industry

speak — means a certain joy-

fully weird era of Disney

theme parks are coming to

an end. Earlier this month,

for instance, Disney cele-

brated the 50th anniversary

of the Haunted Mansion, ar-

guably the park’s most be-

loved attraction.

What’s more, one of the

most talked-about films at

the D23 Expo was the

Dwayne Johnson and Emily

Blunt-starring film “Jungle

Cruise,” itself based on a

concept that dates to the

park’s beginnings. While the

ride took inspiration from

the company’s “True-Life

Adventures,” it ultimately

went in a more lighthearted

direction and has for dec-

ades existed without an ac-

companying cinematic uni-

verse.

Another fan, Cassie

Soumas, liked what she saw

of Disney’s Epcot plans,

which will also include a

game-focused pavilion

called Play! She said she is

“super-excited” about what

was shown but is a “little cu-

rious as to what else is com-

ing.” Pressed on the latter,

she took a slightly more

skeptical wait-and-see ap-

proach. “I’m hesitant to have

IP being sprinkled into

everything,” said the local

22-year-old. “Part of the

magic of going to Disney

parks is the Tiki Room and

Small World, stuff that were

original Imagineering ideas

and are now classic things.

“Imagination,” she add-

ed, “is the key of the Imagi-

neers,” and she still hopes to

someday get “original con-

tent” that is “not just repli-

cating films.”

And yet fandom is full of

contradictions.

Disney further dropped

details of the Avengers Cam-

pus coming to Anaheim next

year, which at launch will be

led by an interactive Spider-

Man ride that promises to

simulate the look and feel of

shooting a web from our

hands. Other experiences

are planned, including what

Imagineer Scot Drake de-

scribed from the stage as the

“ruins of a mysterious Cali-

fornia sanctum” where one

could learn the ways of sor-

cery from Dr. Strange.

In development and giv-

en no timetable is an “Aveng-

ers”-themed ride. Few de-

tails were provided, except

that it will take guests to the

Black Panther’s world of

Wakanda. This was all a

dream come true for Weston

Wurtz, 22, of Santa Ana.

“When they were announc-

ing Spider-Man and what-

not, I was getting so excited,”

Wurtz said. “I had tears of

joy.”

One thing is certain: the

film-focused approach is

shifting theme park design

to a more participatory ex-

perience. Walt Disney is

often credited as describing

the sensation of riding

through Pirates of the Carib-

bean as akin to a cocktail

party, meaning guests

would float through it and

get bits and pieces of a nar-

rative to string together if

they so desired. Today’s

lands and rides feel more

scripted, an attempt to place

guests in an ongoing story.

Avengers Campus will

follow in the footsteps of Ga-

laxy’s Edge and come with a

back story. In Galaxy’s Edge,

for instance, the story goes

that the Resistance is hiding

out in a nearby forest, and

the evil First Order has just

landed in an attempt to sniff

them out. Guests enter the

conflict, which can be ex-

plored via the Play Disney

Parks mobile app, where

there is a game for control of

the land itself. Those who

don’t want to use the app will

still find themselves playing

if they ride Millennium Fal-

con: Smugglers Run, which

melds a theme park simula-

tor with an arcade-like expe-

rience.

Guests can design super-

suits, sling webs or get

glimpses into the science be-

hind the Marvel universe in

Avengers Campus, which

will be themed as a recruit-

ment-based area. “If there is

one shift,” said Imagineer

Scott Trowbridge during a

talk Saturday about

changes from Disneyland’s

1955 opening to today, it’s

that the company is “trying

to open up more room for

our audience to become part

of the story.”

That’s the entire pitch of

an in-development Florida

hotel themed to “Star Wars”

titled Star Wars: Galactic

Starcruiser, which will be a

two-night, cruise-in-space-

like vacation.

Among the offerings will

be the ability to train with a

lightsaber or visit the ship’s

bridge to learn how to fly it —

or operate its defenses. The

Starcruiser promises guest

interactions with droids and

aliens, which were part of

the original pitch for Ga-

laxy’s Edge, and it looks to

unfold as a sort of two-day,

live-action role-playing

game.

“We just kind of assume

that people want to come

and play with us a little bit

more,” said Trowbridge,

who led the Galaxy’s Edge

teams.

“But hopefully you guys

like that idea. So if you don’t,

clap now.”

For once, a fan conven-

tion was relatively quiet.

A pivot away from themed ‘lands’

[D23, from E1]

THE JOURNEY OF WATER,the first attraction inspired by Disney’s animated “Moana,” is on the planning boards for Epcot in Florida.

Disney

STAR WARS:Galactic Starcruiser interactive at-

traction is planned for Disney World, also in Florida.

Disney / Lucasfilm