2013 D23 Expo: Walt Disney Studios Unveils Its New Live Action Films

Continuing on with the biggest presentation at the 2013 D23 Expo, the Walt Disney Studios held part 2 of their massive presentations at the ultimate Disney fan event. The second presentation centered around the upcoming live action films that are coming to your nearest movie house.

Walt Disney Studios President Alan Horn made was the host of the morning’s event and after a hurried yet appreciated run-through of the entertainment studios under Disney’s banner (which of course include Pixar, Marvel, and now Lucasfilm), he began introducing the new films from each of the studios to wild acclaim to everyone in attendance.

As like the last presentation, much went on and since our electronic devices were confiscated like everyone else, here now is a rundown of what was happened and what was announced.

• Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige began the time with extended first looks at “THOR: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Guardians of the Galaxy (a new film about an old Marvel comic), and the “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

Along with each presentation of the films, their respective stars also made a surprise appearance including Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Chris Evans.

THOR 2 releases on November 8, 2013. Captain America 2 releases on April 4, 2014. Guardians releases on August 1, 2014. Avengers 2 will be released sometime in 2015.

• Disneynature, the Studios’ division on creating nature films, gave us a first look at “Bears,” the newest film that’ll tell the story of a family of bears and the love it takes to grow their family. It releases on Earth Day, April 18, 2014.

• The Muppets Movie sequel, “Muppets Most Wanted” will take the Muppets around the world fighting off sticky situations. The human cast includes Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, and Ty Burrell who also made a surprise appearance. Kermit and friends return on March 21, 2014.

• Disney announced new films that’ll take inspiration from some original films. They include a musical comedy called “Into the Woods” starring Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp releasing in December 2014. A live action adaptation of “Cinderella” releasing March 13, 2015. Lastly, “Maleficent,” which will tell the backstory of the cunning witch played by Angelina Jolie (who made a surprise appearance too!) releases July 2, 2014 May 30, 2014.

• Brad Bird and “Lost” producer Damon Lindelof gave more details on “Tomorrowland,” a film that’ll take some of the history of Walt Disney and his obsession with a better tomorrow and blend it with a fictional story that is sure to make all audiences more “optimistic” about their future. The film, starring George Clooney and Hugh Laurie among others, will release on December 12, 2014.

• The last film previewed was “Saving Mr. Banks,” the dramatic and rather comedic film that’ll share the untold story of the creating (or un-creating) of “Mary Poppins.” BJ Novak and Jason Schwartzman who play the iconic songwriters Robert and Richard Sherman (who wrote the music to the nanny film) closed the presentation with a crowd-pleasing rendition of “Let’s Go Fly A Kite.” Starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney, the film is scheduled for a December 20, 2013 worldwide release.

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And that concluded the Walt Disney Studios announcements at the D23 Expo! It is clear that this news combined with yesterday’s news on the new animated films, will make yet another exciting time for Disney movie fans all around the world for years to come!

Are you excited about the new films? Will you seem them all? Which ones give you doubts? Tell us in the comments!