It’s a leap year, it’s an election year, it’s an Olympics year…and it’s a D23 year. 2024 will bring a weekend of fun, exciting panels, and hopefully big announcements. We come to expect the artist formerly known as the D23 Expo to bring a bucket of news and announcements. What can we expect this year? Who knows, I’m not Miss Cleo! However, I have needs and wants. As a believer in manifesting, if I publish my requests, the likelihood of them happening…doesn’t change at all, but I can dream!
- Scarlet Witch solo film – It seems obvious. The fan outcry for more Wanda content has been ever present since her not-death-death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. WandaVision, we were on top of the world. Then, they made our queen a monster. Let her experience joy for once in her incredibly sad existence! She never catches a break! Amidst the current Marvel downturn, Wanda getting the spotlight to herself would be an excuse to print money. We need our mother back on screen!
- More Disney+ Originals – I love a Marvel series more than the next guy (Justice for She Hulk), but…why is that all we seem to receive on the streamer lately? With the original films rarely hitting and the Disney Branded Television series almost all gone, there needs to be a come-to-jesus moment when it comes to Disney+. Percy Jackson & The Olympians has been a bonafide hit, showing that non-Marvel and Star Wars properties can hit on the streamer. I want variety, dahling! Please!
- Literally ANY Large Domestic Park announcement – Remember when D’Amaro was all “We have money and we’re gonna spend it” and then Iger was all “We’re gonna pump so much money into the parks you’re gonna be shocked” and then everyone online was like “That’s cool, but like, show me the receipts” and then it has been silent? (For legal reasons, none of those were direct quotes.) The company at-large is consistently touting their soon-to-be large spending in the parks and I’m thrilled! New at the parks is always great, especially when the last big chunk of announcements was heavily halted by the pandemic. I’m still crying nightly over the loss of the two story festival center and Mary Poppins attraction at Epcot. So, ima need a big announcement. No more of the “we could build this…we’ve thought about it…I dunno, it could happen.” I need definitives! I need declarations! I need answers! [insert Law & Order theme]
- Penny Proud Meet & Greet – I firmly believe that The Proud Family is the greatest animated series Disney has ever produced. The old seasons hold up, the new seasons feel like no time has passed, and the show remains a wonderful way to discuss hot-button issues. I am thee preeminent Proud Family stan. I’m also a stan of Disneyland producing pop-up character meet and greets like there is no tomorrow. So, let’s make this happen. Penny Proud meeting and greeting next to a Wizard Kelly WizBurger stand? I need it pumped into my veins, y’all.
- A Fully Hand-Drawn Animated Feature – Weirdly, we’re currently in the dark with Walt Disney Animation. Strange World and Wish didn’t do well at the box office, so their recent announcement of work on Zootopia and Frozen sequels leads me to believe we’re going to be taking a break from original stories for a while. Yet, the announcement of a fully hand-drawn feature could fully change the studio’s course. While, at the very least, their last hand-drawn feature is a masterpiece, 2011’s Winnie the Pooh, I’d still love something new to bring back the art form. But…while we’re on the subject…
- More Winnie-the-Pooh – I love that silly old bear! I love my sweet Kanga and Roo and Eeyore and Piglet and Tigger. I love them all! (Personally, I identify as a Tigger Sun, Rabbit Moon, Eeyore Rising.) The new Pooh shorts that have begun to play on Disney Junior and Disney+ are delightful, but…can I be honest for a second? It has become disheartening when Disney doesn’t fully know what to do with a property, they send it to Disney Junior. (I’m looking at you Muppet Babies.) I would like to head back to the Hundred Acre Wood, please.