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<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/b>JULY 15, 2017 –\u00a0Disney, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm presented their live- action film slates this morning at the D23 Expo 2017 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. Met with enthusiasm from the excited, fan-filled audience, the lively presentations revealed exclusive news and details about upcoming live-action films and showcased surprise live and video appearances from stars and filmmakers. Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn hosted the highly anticipated biennial event.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAt The Walt Disney Studios, we could not do what we do without the support of the many Disney, Marvel, and\u00a0Star Wars<\/i>\u00a0fans around the world,\u201d said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios.\u00a0 \u201cWe feel like our fans are a part of the family, and the D23 Expo is our chance to give a little something extra back to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
After welcoming the crowd to D23 Expo 2017, Horn introduced Sean Bailey, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, to present overviews of the Disney live-action slate. Later Horn returned to the stage to introduce writer\/director Rian Johnson for a look at Lucasfilm\u2019s upcoming film and ended by introducing Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, for a rousing presentation to close the event.<\/p>\n
A recap of the live-action presentation follows:<\/p>\n Directed by Ava DuVernay from a screenplay by Jennifer Lee based upon the beloved novel by Madeleine L\u2019Engle, A WRINKLE IN TIME is produced by Jim Whitaker and Catherine Hand with Doug Merrifield serving as executive producer. The film also stars: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Pe\u00f1a, Levi Miller, Deric McCabe, Andr\u00e9 Holland and Rowan Blanchard, with Zach Galifianakis.<\/p>\n Meg Murry (Storm Reid) is a typical middle school student struggling with issues of self-worth who is desperate to fit in. As the daughter of two world-renowned physicists, she is intelligent and uniquely gifted, as is Meg\u2019s younger brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe), but she has yet to realize it for herself. Making matters even worse is the baffling disappearance of Mr. Murry (Chris Pine), which torments Meg and has left her mother (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) heartbroken. Charles Wallace introduces Meg and her fellow classmate Calvin (Levi Miller) to three celestial guides\u2014Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) and Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling)\u2014who have journeyed to Earth to help search for their father, and together they set off on their formidable quest. Traveling via a wrinkling of time and space known as tessering, they are soon transported to worlds beyond their imagination where they must confront a powerful evil. To make it back home to Earth, Meg must look deep within herself and embrace her flaws to harness the strength necessary to defeat the darkness closing in on them. A WRINKLE IN TIME opens nationwide\u00a0March 9, 2018.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The film largely takes place in a strange and mysterious parallel world\u2014home to Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers and Land of Sweets. But it\u2019s the ominous Fourth Realm where Clara must take on a tyrant called Mother Ginger as well as a gang of mice who\u2019ve stolen a coveted key from Clara. \u00a0Said Bailey, \u201cThe Mouse King is made up of thousands of mice\u2014a cutting-edge CG creation. But we wanted him to move in a way that would be wonderfully surprising and incredibly cool, so we called on Lil Buck to provide the style of dance that defines the character. He is so talented and the way he makes this character move is unbelievable.\u201d \u00a0Los Angeles-based dancer Lil Buck hit the stage at D23 Expo 2017 to demonstrate the kind of street dancing\u2014called jookin\u2014that informed the way his character moves in the film. The performance earned a standing ovation.<\/p>\n THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS is directed by Lasse Hallstr\u00f6m and produced by Mark Gordon and Larry Franco.\u00a0 The film will open in U.S. theaters on\u00a0November 2, 2018<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Blunt and Marshall answered questions from Sean Bailey, with Blunt offering insight on how she made the character her own. \u201cI needed to try to pay homage to Julie Andrews, but carve out a new space for myself,\u201d said Blunt. \u201cAnd we were very loyal to the books.\u201d Rob Marshall shared, \u201cI was incredibly honored to be approached by Disney about directing a sequel. This is a brand-new original film musical from top to bottom, which is very rare, and it is a wonderful opportunity to create something specifically for the screen.\u201d D23 attendees were then treated to an exclusive first look at the film, which was accompanied by a live orchestra performing original new music from the film conducted by composer Marc Shaiman, eliciting thunderous applause.<\/p>\n P.L. Travers first introduced the world to the no-nonsense nanny in her 1934 children\u2019s book \u201cMary Poppins.\u201d However, the subsequent adventures of Mary Poppins remained only on the pages of the seven other P.L. Travers\u2019 books\u2026until now. \u201cMary Poppins Returns\u201d is drawn from the wealth of material in these additional books.\u00a0 The film also stars\u00a0Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks, Emily Mortimer as Jane Banks, Julie Walters as the Banks\u2019 housekeeper Ellen, with Colin Firth as Fidelity Fiduciary\u2019s William Weatherall Wilkins and Meryl Streep as Mary\u2019s eccentric cousin Topsy. Angela Lansbury appears as the Balloon Lady\u00a0and\u00a0Dick Van Dyke as Mr. Dawes Jr., the retired chairman of the bank now run by Firth\u2019s character. \u201cMary Poppins Returns\u201d is directed by Rob Marshall. The screenplay is by David Magee and the screen story is by Magee & Marshall & John DeLuca based on The Mary Poppins Stories by P.L. Travers. The producers are Marshall, DeLuca and Marc Platt with Callum McDougall serving as executive producer, and the music is by Marc Shaiman with songs by Shaiman and Scott Wittman. MARY POPPINS RETURNS will be released in U.S. theaters on\u00a0December 25, 2018.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0D23 Expo 2017 fans were greeted from across the pond by visionary filmmaker Tim Burton, who is busy directing his next project\u2014a live-action reimagining of Disney\u2019s 1941 animated classic\u00a0\u201cDUMBO.\u201d<\/b>\u00a0 \u201c\u2019Dumbo\u2019 was always one of my favorite Disney films,\u201d said Burton. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to give it the same heart, feeling and emotion that we all loved about the original.\u201d<\/p>\n The film stars Colin Farrell as Holt Farrier, a former circus star and war-veteran charged with the care of a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a laughingstock of an already struggling circus. Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins were cast as Holt\u2019s children, who discover that Dumbo can fly. Danny DeVito portrays circus owner Max Medici who tries to capitalize on the novelty. And Michael Keaton is persuasive entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere who swoops in with aerial artist Colette Marchant, portrayed by Eva Green, to make Dumbo a star.<\/p>\n DUMBO is slated for release on\u00a0<\/strong>March 29, 2019<\/b>. Katterli Frauenfelder, Derek Frey, Ehren Kruger and Justin Springer are producing from a screenplay by Kruger. Filmed entirely in England, \u201cDumbo\u201d is utilizing state-of-the-art visual effects to portray the big-eared elephant and many of his animal counterparts.<\/p>\n Favreau, who was behind 2016\u2019s blockbuster live-action remake of \u201cThe Jungle Book,\u201d joined Bailey on stage. \u201cThis is a story that belongs to everyone who grew up with the original film,\u201d said Favreau. \u201cI wanted to demonstrate that we could be respectful of the source material while bringing it to life using new techniques and technologies. We wanted to do something special for the D23 Expo audience and give them a first look at what we\u2019re up to.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0THE LION KING is one of the biggest animated films of all time with a lifetime global box office gross of $968.8 million. It won Academy Awards\u00ae for the original song \u201cCan You Feel the Love Tonight\u201d (Elton John, Tim Rice) and original score (Hans Zimmer). In 1997, the stage production inspired by the film made its Broadway debut, subsequently winning six Tony\u00ae Awards; 19 years later, it remains one of Broadway\u2019s biggest hits. \u00a0 Starring Donald Glover as Simba, and James Earl Jones as\u2014naturally\u2014Mufasa, Favreau\u2019s live-action version of THE LION KING is slated for theaters on\u00a0July 19, 2019<\/strong>. Favreau, Jeffrey Silver and Karen Gilchrist are producing.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n In Lucasfilm\u2019s \u00a0STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of\u00a0The Force Awakens<\/i>\u00a0join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past. \u00a0The movie stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong\u2019o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern and Benicio Del Toro.<\/p>\n STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI\u00a0is written and directed by Rian Johnson. Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman are producing, with J.J. Abrams, Tom Karnowski and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. \u00a0STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI in U.S. theaters on\u00a0December 15, 2017.<\/strong><\/p>\n Then, in a surprise for all that brought the house down, talent from the film made a grand entrance, including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Josh Brolin, Don Cheadle, Sebastian Stan, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan and\u00a0<\/i>Pom Klementieff.\u00a0 To top it all off, the thrilled fans got an exclusive early look at footage from the movie, introduced by Joe Russo, one of the directors.<\/p>\n An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios\u2019 \u201cAvengers: Infinity War\u201d brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.<\/p>\n Anthony and Joe Russo direct the film, which is produced by Kevin Feige. Louis D\u2019Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee are the executive producers. Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely wrote the screenplay. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR releases in U.S. theaters on\u00a0<\/strong>May 4, 2018<\/b>.<\/p>\n \n <\/u>Fans can join D23 at Gold and General Membership levels at\u00a0D23.com<\/a>\u00a0and at\u00a0DisneyStore.com\/D23<\/a>. To keep up with all the latest D23 news and events, follow DisneyD23 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0JULY 15, 2017 –\u00a0Disney, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm presented their live- action film slates this morning at the D23 Expo 2017 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. Met with enthusiasm from the excited, fan-filled audience, the lively presentations revealed exclusive news and details about upcoming live-action films and showcased surprise live and video […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[5540,6010,6007,268,6012,1624,286,6011,2677,5644,5456,6013],"class_list":["post-20208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-a-wrinkle-in-time","tag-avengers-infinity-war","tag-d23","tag-disney","tag-dumbo","tag-lucasfilm","tag-marvel","tag-mary-poppins-returns","tag-star-wars","tag-the-last-jedi","tag-the-lion-king","tag-the-nutcracker-and-the-four-realms"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/behindthelensonline.net\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/700048058TM00047_Disney_s_D-1024x679.jpg\")
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