Tag Archives: D23

First Full Trailer Released for Zoe Saldana’s “Avatar” Sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water”

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Zoe Saldana is heading the way of water…

The first full official trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, starring the 44-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress, has been released.

Zoë SaldañaDisney will begin the overseas rollout of the sequel to the highest-grossing film ever on December 14 with its U.S. release set for December 16.

The Way of Water is set more than a decade after the events of the first Avatar film. It follows the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri [Saldana] and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure as they fight for their home on Pandora. Brimming with stunning visuals and new creatures, the trailer also features a callback to the original movie with the signature Na’vi line: “I see you.”

Zoe Saldana, Avatar: The Way of Water,The sequel stars Sam Worthington, Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Oona Chaplin, Jermaine Clement and more.

Disney previously previewed a teaser trailer at CinemaCon in April before playing it exclusively in theaters on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and then put it online in May.

The studio, Cameron and producer Jon Landau have been making the rounds with footage from the film, screening during June’s CineEurope conference in Barcelona and at D23 in September as well as for executives from China Film Group (a release there is still unconfirmed).

Disney also released a remastered 4K HDR version of the original film in September to set the table for the sequel, and included sneak footage tagged onto the end.

Sources indicate The Way of Water will clock in at more than three hours, but no exact final run-time has been decided. The original was two hours and 41 minutes.

In total, four sequels are planned. Said Landau in Vegas, “The journey across all four movies will create a connected saga.”

Said Cameron at the time, the new films are “pushing limits even farther with high frame rate, higher resolution 3D and greater reality in our visual effects. I wanted our return to Pandora to be something really special. Every shot is designed for the biggest screen, highest resolution and most immersive 3D available. I think we pulled it off.”

Pixar to Release the Dia de los Muertos-Themed Animated Film “Coco”

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Mexico’s El Dia de los Muertos celebration is getting the Pixar treatment.

Pixar has revealed plans to release a new film, Coco, about Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration, helmed by Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla Anderson.

Pixar's Coco

The duo unveiled a first look at the film’s protagonist, a teen named Miguel, and showed a film clip of a musical celebration at Disney’s D23.

Unkrich learned more about Dia De Los Muertos through the artwork for the holiday, which begins on October 31 and ends of November 2. His appreciation for the colorful skeleton folk art led to his emotional investment in the holiday, which Unkrich described as a sort of “big family reunion between the living and the dead.”

The premise of the story comes from a simple question: “What if you could meet your long dead family members?” For research, Unkrich traveled to Mexico to see how the holiday was celebrated in different places, meeting many families and experiencing the traditions with them.

Pixar's Coco

Described as “breathtaking, beautiful, and fun” by John Lasseter and “emotional” by Unkrich, Coco follows Miguel, who sets off a chain of events relating to a century-old mystery.

The official story description is: “Coco is the celebration of a lifetime, where the discovery of a generations-old mystery leads to a most extraordinary and surprising family reunion.”

Pixar has not set a release date for Coco yet.

Miranda to Write Music for Walt Disney Animation’s “Moana”

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Lin-Manuel Miranda is has the write stuff for Walt Disney…

The 35-year-old Puerto Rican composer, rapper, lyricist, and actor has signed on to write music for Moana, an upcoming project from Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

The announcement was made at The Official Disney Fan Club‘s D23 EXPO 2015 in Anaheim with Dwayne Johnson, who will be starring in the film as the mighty demi-god Maui, on hand.

Miranda, who has been teasing the announcement on social media, also shared the news via a video Tweet.

Moana follows “a spirited teenager who sets out to prove herself a master wayfinder,” according to press materials.

The film will also feature the talents of Grammy-winning composer Mark Mancina (The Lion King) and Opetaia Foa’i (founder and lead singer of the world music award-winning band Te Vaka).

According to Miranda, the trio have been collaborating for over a year and a half.

Moana is set to open in theaters on November 23, 2016.

Directors John Musker and Ron Clements will helm the film with Osnat Shurer producing.

Miranda, a Tony and Grammy award winner, recently received Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Critics Circle Awards for Hamilton, which is currently running at the Richard Rodgers Theatre after an engagement at the Public Theater.

He’s a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his musical In the Heights, and is also the coauthor of Bring it On: The Musical.

Miranda received a Primetime Emmy Award for his opening number for the 67th Annual Tony Awards, written with Tom Kitt.

Parrilla Reveals First Minute of “Once Upon a Time” Premiere

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It appears Lana Parrilla won’t living up to her character’s title on Once Upon a Time… 

ABC’s fairy tale drama was showcased at Disney‘s D23 for “An Evening with Snow White & the Evil Queen,” with the 38-year-old Puerto Rican actress (Regina/Evil Queen), Ginnifer Goodwin (Mary Margaret/Snow White) and surprise guest Josh Dallas (David/Charming) joining series co-creators Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis.

Lana Parrilla

During the panel, the audience was treated to season five’s opening minute, which picked up exactly where season four left off — with Emma (Jennifer Morrison) taking on the powers of the Dark One in order to save Regina…and vanishing.

“How could she be so stupid?” Regina asks. And when Snow points out that Emma saved Regina’s life, the former Evil Queen acknowledges she knows that. But, unfortunately, “Now she’s a problem for all of us,” Regina points out.

And when Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) tries to use the dagger to summon Emma with no success, Regina tells him that means one thing: Emma’s not in this world.

Once Upon a Time returns Sunday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. on ABC.