The second day of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event has concluded, gifting fans of the Mouse House with multiple announcements. Several innovations concerning Disneyland Paris were revealed. The most anticipated was the announcement of a new Land inspired by The Lion King, which will be built after the expected opening in 2026 of World of Frozen at Disney Adventure World. A series of other projects in the unprecedented transformation of the main European tourist destination were also unveiled. Starting in January 2025, guests will be able to enjoy a new nighttime show that will illuminate the Sleeping Beauty Castle every evening, while in the coming years an innovative evening show will take place at Adventure Bay, the central lake of Disney Adventure World.
Brad Winderbaum, Head of Marvel Streaming, Television, and Animation, shared a preview of the next two years of Marvel Animation during the Marvel Animation Sneak Peek panel, which included a first look at the final season of What If…?, the second season of X-Men ’97, Eyes of Wakanda, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. He was joined by voice actors, including Cal Dodd, who voices Wolverine in the original X-Men ’97, and Lenore Zann, the voice of Rogue in the original X-Men ’97. On stage with Winderbaum were filmmakers Bryan Andrews, director and executive producer of What If…? and Marvel Zombies; Todd Harris, director and executive producer of Eyes of Wakanda; Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther and producer of Eyes of Wakanda; and Jeff Trammell, head writer and executive producer of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, who announced that Hudson Thames will play Peter Parker/Spider-Man while Colman Domingo will be Norman Osborn in the upcoming series, before both actors joined him on stage. The panel concluded with a surprise first look at the highly anticipated series Marvel Zombies.
The original Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians impressed the audience with a star-studded panel at D23 on the Premiere Stage. Moderated by Juju Green, aka Straw Hat Goofy, the panel featured stars of the series Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood), with Charlie Bushnell (Luke Castellan) and Dior Goodjohn (Clarisse La Rue) joining the series as recurring characters this season, alongside executive producers Jonathan E. Steinberg, Dan Shotz, and Craig Silverstein, in addition to surprise appearances by Toby Stephens (Poseidon), Jason Mantzoukas (Mr. D/Dionysus), and Daniel Diemer (Tyson). The panel marked the first public appearance of all six protagonists of the second season of the series together. Mantzoukas also confirmed he will return as Mr. D, the director of Camp Half-Blood. Additionally, it was announced that Sandra Bernhard, Margaret Cho, and Kristen Schaal will guest star in the second season of the epic adventure series as the Gray Sisters. Bernhard will play Anger, tasked with collecting the taxi fare from heroes seeking a ride. Anger eagerly awaits her turn to use the only eye shared by the Sisters. Schaal will portray Tempest, who currently possesses the coveted shared eye among the sisters and uses it to peer at heroes, read their futures, and tease them about their crushes and social lives. Cho will play Wasp, the main driver of the Gray Sisters Taxi. The woman takes heroes on a high-speed, thrilling ride to Camp Half-Blood. Though she is blind for most of the time, she has truly seen it all. The second season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is based on “The Sea of Monsters,” the second chapter of the best-selling Disney Hyperion book series “Percy Jackson,” by acclaimed author Rick Riordan. Produced by Disney Branded Television and 20th Television, the production of the epic adventure series is currently ongoing in Vancouver for a planned debut in 2025 on Disney+. Further news about the cast will be released soon. During the panel, posed images and new behind-the-scenes photos were shared.