Disney's D23 Gives Us Looks at The Avengers, John Carter, and Oz
Posted 08.21.11 by Chris
At last month's San Diego Comic-Con, there were some very noticeable absences, including the superhero ensemble The Avengers, John Carter and Oz: The Great and Powerful.
There was a lot of speculation as to why these highly anticipated projects were not present at what has become the biggest movie convention in the world. Maybe the projects were too early in development and there simply wasn't any finished footage for fans to drool over. There was also talk that studios were skipping Comic-Con, not seeing the payoff in box office results. Well, it looks like there's a simpler explanation, at least for those projects under the Disney banner — they were saving those presentations for its own convention.
At D23 in Anaheim this year, Disney gave many what they were hoping to see in San Diego. Attendees saw scenes from Avengers scenes between Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth). EW and CinemaBlend have descriptions of these scenes. The movie opens May 4.
But there was more at D23. For Disney's highly anticipated John Carter presentation, stars Willem Dafoe, Taylor Kitsch, and Lynn Collins joined director Andrew Stanton to unveil three new clips from the sci-fi epic. Collider has a rundown on what those clips showed.
And since it was Disney, we got some news from the Pixar front. The studio updated fans on two of its works in progress: Monsters University and Brave. Billy Crystal, who voiced Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc., was on hand for the presentation, which didn't include footage but did have images of 18-year-old versions of Wazowski and Sully Sulivan (John Goodman). Pixar boss John Lasseter described the "prequel" as a "animated college movie." The movie is slated to hit theaters June 13, 2013.
Lasseter also was on hand to talk about Brave, which will include Pixar's first heroine, princess Merinda (Kelly Macdonald). The presentation included two scenes, one of Merinda riding her horse and another of her during archery practice. The movie is due June 22, 2012.
But more interesting was Pixar's announcement of two new untitled projects. “We’re going to announce two new films no one has ever heard about. Original films,” said. John Lasseter. The first one, being directed by Bob Peterson, is said to be about a world where there was no dinosaur-killing asteroid and humans live among dinosaurs. Pixar plans to release the movie during the holiday season in 2013.
The second new Pixar movie is about .... "The world inside your mind," according to director Peter Docter. Huh?
Do you ever wonder how people make decisions? Why we remember, or how we forget? Why we dream? Why do songs get stuck in our heads? Most of us have had the experience of being around someone and thinking what is going on in their head!? This film will attempt to answer those questions.
The movie, whatever it is, is expected for a summer 2014 release.
And finally at D23, we got our first sneak peak into the world of Oz before the Wizard. Director Sam Raimi introduced teaser footage of his upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful. And according to EW, the footage started with, "Before a house fell out of the sky ... " and seemed to echo the look and feel of the original Wizard of Oz. Given the movie, which stars James Franco as the wizard, and Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams as the witches of Oz, just started production in late July in Detroit, there was no finished footage at this year's D23. But Raimi told audiences what they should expect from his take on Oz.
Oz is almost part of our DNA, this fantastic take on our own world where our dreams can come true, where we can become the people we long to be. But also there are dangers along the yellow bring road… When we first meet Oz, he’s a carnival showman, a magician. Though he has a good heart, it’s gotten lost somewhere along the way.
Well, we can't wait. The movie opens March 2013.