With Disney’s D23 Expo coming up in a few days, the Mouse is priming the pump for some possible Marvel-related announcements. At the Television Critics Association press tour, ABC president Paul Lee confirmed that the AKA Jessica Jones and Guillermo del Toro=produced Hulk pilots are still in the works, saying both were being “aggressively” developed. He also dropped some arcane hints about…Castle?
“We’ve got this really cool storyline with a Marvel character that appears in ‘Castle’ this year.”
Could this be an in-world superhero, a mystery revolving around comics or…what? Disney and Marvel are already busily synergizing/transmediuming Castle – – Marvel is publishing a tie-in comic of the book series that hero Castle writes, and star Nathan Fillion was signing at the Marvel booth at Comic-Con. So more tie-ins would be a swell test of the corporate bonds.
Even more mysteriously, Disney just released a film schedule that included two unnamed Marvel films, one for May 16, 2014, and one for June 27, 2014. Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 have dates already, so speculation has centered around Captain America 2, or, possibly, Doctor Strange and Ant Man, which are said to be far along the pipeline.
Whatever the nature of these mystery films — or a third, Pixar project that was also on the release list — it’s a pretty solid bet that we’ll learn more about them at D23. Presentations with Marvel and Pixar are both on the schedule, and Disney wouldn’t drop a tease like the schedule if they didn’t have a reveal already planned.
Looks like D23 will be full of surprises. For instance did you know that Dick van Dyke is alive and singing? It’s true!
UPDATE: literally as we were writing this post, Marvel sent out some PR on their D23 presence – including an assemblage of the cast of the Avengers! Yes, this is going to be a buzz-worthy event.
On Saturday, August 20, Marvel Studios President, Production, Kevin Feige joins Rich Ross, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios; Sean Bailey, President, production, The Walt Disney Studios; and John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios on stage at the D23 Arena for the Expo’s Walt Disney Studios presentation. Feige, will be on hand along with an awesome assemblage of cast members from “Marvel’s The Avengers.”
But that’s not all, True Believers! On Sunday, August 21, Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada brings you inside the House of Ideas with a very special Marvel presentation and Q&A that provides a behind-the-scenes look at Marvel and its iconic super heroes. Join him for an exclusive and unprecedented experience that will take you through the evolution of Marvel from its first comic book in 1939 to its current position as one of the most important creative forces in the world.
D23 will be an amazing experience and we hope you can attend! But if you can’t, don’t worry–we’ll bring the Marvel events directly to you! Marvel.com Editorial Director Agent M will be there, posting tweets and photos, and hosting liveblogs of both Marvel sessions! Sign up for both liveblogs below or on Marvel’s Facebook page, and follow both @Marvel and @Agent_M on Twitter for all the action!
I’ve been expecting this type of synergy since the Disney Marvel deal was first announced. When will we who cover this sort of news start including the D Expos as part of our must attend cons of each year?
Would it be too much to hope for that the D23 Expo include some sort of announcement that Marvel will publish material based on the classic Disney characters – replacing the now-departed Boom Disney line?
Dan Veltre
Dewey’s Comic City
Madison
I agree, Dan. Boom Studio’s reprinting of The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck volume 1 by Don Rosa has gone out of print, which is a real shame. In my opinion it was the best Disney book they ever printed and someone at Marvel should do their best to get it back into print quickly.
For the past four years, I have pestered Gemstone, then Boom, to issue a “money bin” edition of The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck”. All the stories, annotations (a separate volume, like Absolute Kingdom Come), scripts, sketches…
Boom just started treasury editions, but Marvel doesn’t publish them. Guess I should send a letter to Egmont…
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So, anyone going to ask about Jack Kirby and creator credits in Marvel Comics?
Attended the 1st D23 Expo back in 2009 and even then I couldn’t wait for the next Expo to see how Marvel would be presented at the Expo. I’m attending this year and I’m expecting a larger crowd. Disney knows how to put on a show, smaller in scale to the Sn Diego Comic-Con, but when you realize that it’s ALL put on by Disney, it’s pretty amazing. I’m sure I’ll be seeing allot more Marvel T’s this year!