D23 Expo: What did you miss at Disney's fan convention? Get the gossip on Star Wars, Marvel and more

They were not disappointed, as they were given sneak peaks of Captain America: Civil War, treated to an appearance from Star Wars legend Harrison Ford, and heard all the gossip about all the latest animated movies from Pixar.

Here’s some of the biggest news from the event.

Star Wars

The force will awaken in just 125 days, but Star Wars fans didn’t learn anything new about the film at Disney’s D23 convention.

Audiences at the biannual fan expo were, however, informed that Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow is set to direct Star Wars: Episode IX and saw a first glimpse of the cast of Gareth Edwards’ anthology film Star Wars: Rogue One.

But Star Wars: The Force Awakens, out on December 18, remains cloaked in secrecy. Director JJ Abrams, stars Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley, Lupita Nyong’o and John Boyega were on hand to wave at the screaming audience in the 7,500-seat auditorium, but revealed no new footage or information about the film.

Harrison, who appeared with the cast at Comic-Con in July, spoke briefly when the audience screams died down.

“I’m following in the footsteps of George Lucas, the author of the early parts of my story, and now I’m delighted to be here with JJ and the cast and Disney, which has supported this effort in a really extraordinary way,” said the actor, who will be playing Han Solo once more in the film, set about 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi.

“It’s a great thrill to be here with you and who made this whole thing happen, I couldn’t be happier,” he said.

Star Wars fans were also told by Disney CEO Bob Iger that the film franchise is getting its own themed lands at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland in Anaheim, California, as well as getting a look at the new Disney Infinity characters linked to the new film.

Marvel

Fans of the comic books movies were not disappointed as studio boss Kevin Feige showcased new footage of Captain America: Civil War at D23, as part of his Phase Three presentation.

He also brought along stars Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie to the event. Chris confessed to being a massive Disney fan and said it was an honour to be part of the family.

The footage showed Captain America (Evans), Falcon (Mackie) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) take on Crossbones, before introducing characters Vision (Paul Bettany), Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman).

It also previewed the showdown between the Captain and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), and the meeting between Ant-Man/Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and the Cap, in which Scott gets a little starstruck.

Feige also said that Marvel would continue to, “push the boundaries of the cinematic universe”, by bringing new characters to the big screen, before introducing a video message from Benedict Cumberbatch, who talked about his title role in Doctor Strange.

“He’s an extraordinary character and brings a whole other dimension – multiple dimensions – to the Marvel Universe,” the Sherlock star said.

Feige also premiered a reel of concept art and visual imagery, set to music, to give fans an idea of what to expect.

Pirates Of The Caribbean 5

Although he might have been one in spirit, Johnny Depp is now a Disney Legend in title too. The actor made a surprise appearance at Disney’s D23 Expo to accept the honour from Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Depp has starred in Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean series as Captain Jack Sparrow as well as their live-action Alice In Wonderland as the Mad Hatter.

The actor said that he doesn’t like the words “fan” or “legend” but thanked the 7,500 audience members for giving him the, “opportunity to do stupid stuff for a living.”

He also turned up in character as Captain Jack as details of the latest Pirates casting were announced.

Fans learned that Orlando Bloom will be reprising his role as Will Turner in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

The Jungle Book

Jon Favreau and his cast got fans excited when they previewed the live-action/CGI spectacle of The Jungle Book, a lush epic from the Iron Man director which Disney exec Sean Bailey called, “the most technologically advanced movie ever”.

Empire reported that Favreau talked about the challenges of channelling the original while making something new, and the high-tech artistry going on behind the scenes.

He was joined by stars Sir Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong’o and newcomer Neel Sethi, who plays Mowgli.

Alice Through The Looking Glass

Mia Wasikowska, who plays Alice previewed the sequel to Tim Burton’s 2010 live-action film Alice In Wonderland at D23.

The new film, directed by James Bobin and out in the UK in May next year, will feature the return of many of the original star cast – including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Anne Hathaway – plus the introduction of Sacha Baron Cohen as new character Time.

Disney Pixar

Pixar previewed its animation slate with special appearances from voice actors including Ellen DeGeneres and Dwayne Johnson.

John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, hosted the presentation, where he announced a Jack and the Beanstalk adaptation, Gigantic, and the title of their Dia de los Muertos film, Coco. It was also revealed that Shakira would be providing an original song and voicing a character in Zootopia.

Gigantic director Nathan Greno said his film would be the definitive version of the fairytale — with a few spins, including a 60-foot tall, 11-year-old girl who Jack meets when he climbs up the beanstalk. Frozen songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who penned the hit Let It Go, will be writing the songs.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was there to preview the South Pacific-set Moana, out next year, which follows a high spirited, 16-year-old princess who, 2,000 years ago, sails to a fabled island with the tattooed demi-god Maui (Johnson).

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker and Dwayne spoke about their extensive talks with anthropologists and archaeologists to ensure they accurately represented the area and how important the ocean is to local culture.

Dwayne said it has been his dream to be in an animated Disney movie.

“It is my heritage, it is my culture. I am proudly half-Samoan and half-black,” he said. “I’m so deeply connected to this movie.”

Coco, from director Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3), will be about a 12-year-old boy living with his big family in Mexico who inadvertently sets off a life-altering chain of events.

Pixar also released information about Toy Story 4 and Finding Dory, a sequel to the 2003 film Finding Nemo in which the forgetful Dory (DeGeneres) endeavours to track down her family. Randy Newman performed You’ve Got A Friend in Me in anticipation of Toy Story 4, which will feature a love story between Woody (Tom Hanks) and Bo Peep (Annie Potts).

Pixar’s long-delayed The Good Dinosaur will finally be out on November 25 with new director Peter Sohn. The film puts a new spin on the classic boy and his dog tale, with the “boy” a friendly Apatosaurus named Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) and the “dog” a feral child who walks on all fours.

Directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore appeared to preview Zootopia, out in the US on March 4, which is set in a human-like city populated by animals who walk upright, wear clothes and hold jobs.