Black Panther, Indiana Jones take spotlight at Disney expo
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is set for release in November
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — An emotional Harrison Ford appeared along with a new trailer for the fifth Indiana Jones film, cast members from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” showed footage from their forthcoming sequel, and trailers and details were unveiled from the widening TV presence of the “Star Wars” galaxy on Saturday at the D23 Expo.
Angela Bassett and Winston Duke were among the cast members who presented part of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which is set for release on Nov. 11.
The sequence shows a team trying to steal some of the nation of Wakanda’s precious substance vibranium, and a Wakandan team beating them back.
It has not been clear how the film would deal with the death of the title star of the first film, Chadwick Boseman, who died of prostate cancer in 2020.
But the footage acknowledged that his character T’Challa had died, and suggests that his sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, might be the next Black Panther.
“We had to meet his level of excellence, and we did,” Bassett said.
An arena-sized audience gave a standing ovation to Ford, co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge and director James Mangold after the trailer was shown at a presentation from Disney divisions Marvel, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios at the festival at the Anaheim Convention Center, next door to Disneyland.
“Thank you for making these films such an incredible experience for all of us,” the usually stoic Ford said, choking up at times. “I’m very proud to say to say that this one is fantastic.”
He pointed to Waller-Bridge and said, “this is one of the reasons.”
The 80-year-old Ford suggested this would be his last time donning the hat and holding the whip of one of the two characters that made him famous.
“This is it,” he said, as shouts of “no” came from the crowd. “I will not fall down for you again.”
The 37-year-old Waller-Bridge said Ford showed no signs of slowing down, saying “I had the time of my life making this movie,” and “keeping up with this guy is exhausting.”
The trailer shows Ford cracking that whip in front of a group of heavily armed henchmen with Waller-Bridge at his side.
The film, whose title has yet to be announced, is set for release on June 30, 2023. It also stars Mads Mikkelsen, Toby Jones and Antonio Banderas, and is the first in the franchise not directed by Steven Spielberg.
Neither the “Indiana Jones” trailer nor the “Black Panther” footage were released outside of the convention hall.
Marvel also announced cast members of the forthcoming Phase 5 films from its cinematic universe, “Captain America: New World Order” and “Thunderbolts.”
Anthony Mackie will take up the familiar shield as Captain America in the movie slated for a May 2024 release, as he did at the end of the television series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” and he’ll be joined by Tim Blake Nelson as central villain the Leader. Danny Ramirez and Shira Haas will play heroes alongside Mackie.
Marvel’s team of antiheroes “Thunderbolts” will include role reprisals from Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier and David Harbour as Red Guardian. Wyatt Russell and Julia Louis Dreyfus also appear in the film set to be released in July of 2024.
Pedro Pascal and the cast of “The Mandalorian” unveiled a trailer and new details for the series’ third season and Diego Luna did the same for the forthcoming series “Andor” as Lucasfilm and the “Star Wars” galaxy deepens its television presence with no big screens in sight.
“You are a Mandalorian no more,” Pascal’s title character is told in the trailer for the new season, a penalty for his having removed his helmet and showed his face.
The trailer shows the Mandalorian and his baby-Yoda sidekick Grogu zipping through space, and suggests an increased role for “Battlestar Galactica” star Katee Sackhoff and her character Bo-Katan Kryze, who first appeared in season two.
Carl Weathers and Giancarlo will both reprise their roles, and “Back to the Future” star Christopher Lloyd is joining the cast. The show is set to premiere in February.
In a different Lucasfilm galaxy, a trailer was unveiled for the forthcoming TV series “Willow,” based on the 1988 Ron Howard fantasy film. Christian Slater was announced as a cast member, and appeared live to talk about it.
“I love the fantasy, the sci-fi, just getting to be a part of this show was, I will be honest with you an absolute dream come true,” Slater said. “This was a very fun character.”
The character was described only as someone aiding in a quest who is a friend of Madmartigan, the rogue adventurer played by Val Kilmer in the film.
The trailer brings epic echoes of “Lord of the Rings,” with original “Willow” actor Warwick Davis leading a group of teen adventurers in cloaks on a magical mission.
All the shows will stream on Disney+.
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