If you know The Honey POP, then you know we’re huge Disney nerds, right? So it should come as no surprise that when the company announced they’d be doing an edition of the popular D23 in Brazil we were buzzing with excitement for it! We actually had the opportunity to take part in this magical experience and boy do we have a lot to talk about!
The Experience
Taking place from November 8 to November 10 at the Transamérica Expo Center in São Paulo, D23 Brazil is the first time Disney had an edition of D23 outside of Anaheim, California, where the event has been held every two years since 2009. And we think it’s safe to say the Brazilian public proved that international editions are the way to go from now on. Our days were filled with Disney magic, fun cosplays and so much Disney news we could barely keep up with, including new projects for Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, the Toy Story franchise and more!
One very positive aspect of D23 Brazil were the interactive activities. The ones we had were so good we wish there had been more of them, if we’re honest. Our personal favorites were the Captain America obstacle course and the puzzle game inspired by The Bear. For the obstacle course, participants were split into teams and the first team to complete the course and press a red button at the end won the chance to take photos with the wax statue of Sam Wilson as Captain America. On the other end of the venue, the kitchen from The Bear was recreated and visitors got to put together a four-piece puzzle of a fancy dish from the show for the chance to win a personalized apron, but even if you weren’t the Michelin chef who won the game, you still walked out of there with an enamel pin of the show’s logo.
Another spot that caught our attention was the shop. The huge line was definitely worth it for what awaited inside. Each corner of the store was dedicated to a different Walt Disney Company brand, such as Disney Princesses, Marvel, Pixar and in one corner there were T-shirts inspired by different eras of Disney characters, from the 70s all the way to the 2010s and beyond, which we were in love with! Still on the topic of shopping, there were also several stands for other brands which were selling Disney-themed products, such as Baw!, Converse and Havaianas (the most famous Brazilian flip flop brand.)
We also had the opportunity to take photos with Disney world backdrops and with some characters, allowing the public to feel a little bit of the Disney World magic a lot closer to home. The Disney Cruise Line area brought over Daisy, Goofy, Minnie and Mickey Mouse to take photos with the public, and if you happened to pass by the area dedicated to Frozen, you could get in line to take a photo with Anna, Elsa or Olaf depending on the time of day. And of course Zé Carioca, the Brazilian parrot created by Disney in the 1940s, also made an appearance to take photos with fans.
But we know that’s not the main reason you clicked on this article. You’re most likely here to hear about the new audiovisual projects and plans for the parks, right? So let’s get to it!
What’s New With Toy Story
Firstly, let’s talk about the 30 Years Of Toy Story panel. With the participation of Jonas Rivera, executive vice president for film production at Pixar, and two Brazilian animators, Priscila Vertamatti and Cláudio de Oliveira, who worked on Toy Story 4. Priscila talked about her first time animating Toy Story characters was in Toy Story of Terror and how being an “expert on cats” helped her in animating Dragon, the tabby cat we meet in the movie. Meanwhile, Cláudio explained the process behind animating Forky, how animators have to be the first ones to have a relationship with the characters and mentioned that part of his inspiration came from listening to Tony Hale (Forky’s voice actor) recording the word “trash” in various intonations.
The trio also told the audience about the theme of Toy Story 5 being technology vs. toys and showed us two concept images for the movie, one depicting Bonnie under the blanket with a tablet while the toys are at the end of her bed watching and one showing a box full of Buzz Lightyear action figures in a box on the beach.
Marvel-lous News Are Coming
By far two of the most exciting panels were the ones dedicated to the Disney Studios that happened on the first and second days of D23 Brazil. And during those, Marvel fans got a huge list of new stuff to be happy about, including the first Thunderbolts trailer, exclusive content about Captain America: Brave New World, a glimpse into the third and final season of What If…?, new material on Daredevil: Born Again and the animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
We also couldn’t not mention the special appearances from Marvel folks during panels. Names like Kevin Feige, Anthony Mackie, Charlie Cox and David Harbour came up on stage to talk about their new projects. But those were all projects we already knew were in production. What about new announcements? Well, you’re in luck because Kevin Feige chose to tell us a lot about the future of Marvel Studios. For example, he has confirmed during an interview that a new movie about Blade, whose first on screen appearance was in 1998, is in production and should be part of Marvel’s Phase Six.
Feige also assured fans that X-Men ’97 won’t be the only place we’ll see Professor X’s students in the near future. According to him, the mutants will have their debut in the MCU soon, and will play an important part in the franchise, especially after the release of Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.
New Stories From “A Galaxy Far Far Away”
Moving on from superheroes to space warriors, Lucasfilm also has some exciting projects coming soon. Starting off strong, fans got to see a pre-recorded message from Jude Law about Skeleton Crew, the new Star Wars show coming next month to Disney+. Then, the android B2 EMO slid onto the stage to say hi, announce season two of Andor, set to come out in April of 2025, and show fans a little sneak peak of it.
We also had announcements of new shows currently in development, including The Dark Lord, focused on Darth Vader, The Children of the Sith, whose main characters are young Sith acolytes after the end of Palpatine’s rule and Luke: Legends and Legacy, an animated series announced by Mark Hamill himself on video that will dive into untold stories of Luke’s life that we haven’t seen before.
And finally, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni also showed up on a pre-recorded message announcing The Mandalorian & Grogu, Lucasfilm’s next movie, set to come out on May 21, 2026. The movie is in production right now and it promises to bring back the cutest duo the Star Wars universe has given us, Din Djarin and Grogu, in a new adventure together.
20th Century Fox Has Some News Too
Surprising all the fans present at D23 Brazil, Rami Malek took the stage of the D23 Arena by storm during the last panel of the second day to announce his new movie, The Amateur. A spy movie set to release on April 10, 2025, The Amateur brings us Charlie Heller, a brilliant but shy CIA agent whose life is turned upside down when his wife is murdered by terrorist and his superiors do nothing about it. Angry and grieving, Charlie decides to do something about it himself, going after the people responsible all over the world.
Next, we had a special appearance from James Cameron live from New Zealand to talk about Avatar: Fire and Ash. The director shared five new concept art pieces of the movie and shared that Fire and Ash will once again bring the public to Pandora for a new adventure at the side of Jake Sully, Neytiri and their family. The release date for the new Avatar movie is December 19, 2025.
Disney Animation And Live Actions Are Here To Stay
Finally, let’s talk about Disney itself. With over 100 years of history, the studio shows no signs of slowing down their production rhythm. On the animation side of things, we got to see a new trailer for Elio, the new animated movie; a special sneak peak of Dream Productions, a limited series from the world of Inside Out that will come out on Disney+ on December 11; We also had exclusive previews of Moana 2 and Zootopia 2, which also had additional exciting news: Shakira appeared on a video confirming she’d be back to playing Gazelle, the popstar we met in the first movie.
On the live-action side of things, we got exclusive sneak peaks of Tron: Ares and Lilo & Stitch and new official trailers for Mufasa: The Lion King and Snow White. Mufasa will follow the journey of Simba’s father when he was young and learning to become the lion we met in The Lion King. As for the Snow White trailer, it was the first time we watched the seven dwarfs actually join the fairest of them all on screen.
“The Most Magical Place On Earth” Gets More Magical
The Walt Disney Company is not only known for its magical movies and shows, but also for its theme parks and cruise line, and of course we got some news about those to share as well. Starting with the Disney Cruise Line, Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences at The Walt Disney Company confirmed the expansion of the fleet from five ships to 13 ships until 2031 and we should see some new restaurants inspired in The Lion King and Cruella de Vil and attractions inspired in Moana and the Haunted Mansion for guests at sea.
As for the parks, D’Amaro promised D23 Brazil visitors we’ll see 14 new attractions in Disney parks all over the world inspired in classic Disney Villains, Monsters Inc., Cars, Indiana Jones, Coco, Encanto, Avatar, The Lion King, Moana and Hercules soon. We’ll also see an expansion of the Avengers Campus in Disneyland, including two new rides, Stark Flight Lab and Avengers Infinity Defense.
Animal Kingdom will be the home of the Indiana Jones ride, where guests will embark on a trip through the Mayan temple with Indy, and to the Encanto themed area, where fans will be able to explore the Madrigal family home. On the opposite side of the country, California Adventure will receive an immersive experience based on the world of Coco and a new water-based attraction inspired by Avatar: The Way of Water.
We couldn’t feel our feet by the time the event was over, but it was so worth the ten hours of walking around a crowded expo center. D23 Brazil was a blast from start to finish and we hope to get more international editions of the convention in the future!
So what did you think of all the news that came out of D23 Brazil? What are you most excited about? Tell us all about it on Twitter @thehoneypop or find us on Instagram and/or Facebook. You know we love to hear from you!
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