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NEWS EXTRAS
NEW REBEL HEROES
FOR STAR WARS
DISNEY’S WOW FACTORAs well as updates on StarWars and Marvel, the Pacific-themed Moana
was among the new animated titles showcased at Disney expo D23.
To whet your appetite for the upcoming big
screen return of Star Wars, this month sees
the DVD debut of the brand new animated
series Star Wars Rebels.
The first season features 15 episodes
and follows the adventures of the motley
crew of the starship Ghost who have taken
the fight to the Empire, five years after the
events of Stars Wars IV: A New Hope.
Receiving help from familiar heroes such
as Lando Calrissian, Ahsoka Tano, and Jedi
Master Yoda, the series also features an
appearance from Star Wars’ most infamous
villain Darth Vader. Freddie Prinze Jr, David
Oyelowo and Jason Isaacs are among those
providing the voices for Star Wars Rebels;
a second season is already in the works.
Star Wars Rebels: Complete Season One
is due out on September 2
ue in cinemas next Christmas,
Moana tells the story of a teenager
in search of a fabled Pacific island
and will feature the voice talents of Dwayne
Johnson as the god Maui. Pacific music
icon Opetaia Foa’i and his Pacific fusion
group Te Vaka gave attendees a taste of the
music soundtrack with a show-stopping live
performance.
Other upcoming animated blockbusters
showcased at D23 included the next
big Disney movie The Good Dinosaur (in
cinemas in December), Zootopia (April 2016),
two highly-anticipated sequels: Finding Dory
(June 2016) and Toy Story 4 (June 2017). A
new Pixar short Riley’s First Date?, which will be
featured on the Blu-ray edition of the next Disney
blockbuster Inside Out, was also premiered. As
well as sneak peeks and music performances,
there were also appearances from stars such
as Ellen DeGeneres, Ginnifer Goodwin, Rashida
Jones and Ty Burrell.
Pixar chief and Toy Story creator John Lasseter
said: “We really have an unbelievable range of
movies in production at our studios right now.”
In addition to the animated line-up, Disney also
gave a run through of the studio’s upcoming live
action slate, which includes remakes and reboots
of classics such as The Jungle Book (April 2016),
Alice Through the Looking Glass (May 2016),
Pete’s Dragon (September 2016) and Beauty and
the Beast (March 2017). There was also a surprise
appearance on stage from Johnny Depp in full
Captain Jack Sparrow costume for Pirates of the
Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
Unsurprisingly, the events that attracted
the most media attention were the sessions
devoted to Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic
universes. Although there were no ground-
breaking revelations, more detail was confirmed
about the spin-off Rogue One, the first of the
standalone Star Wars stories due to hit the big
screen. Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) is directing
and the cast includes Felicity Jones, Diego Luna,
Ben Mendelsohn and Donnie Yen. Meanwhile,
Colin Trevorrow was confirmed as the director
of Star Wars: Episode IX, which is scheduled for
release in 2019. There was nothing really new
announced about Star Wars: The Force Awakens,
but there was wild applause from the audience
when Harrison Ford joined director J.J. Abrams
on stage during the presentation.
As for Marvel, there was an early glimpse
into the world ofDoctor Strange (November
2016), featuring a video greeting by Benedict
Cumberbatch, while Chris Evans and Anthony
Mackie joined producer Kevin Feige on stage to
show never-seen-before footage from Captain
America: Civil War, due in cinemas in May 2016.
The superhero blockbuster follows on from the
events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, which is out
this month on DVD and Blu-ray.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Former Soundgarden man Chris Cornell, who returns
to New Zealand for three shows in November,
this month releases his fifth studio set Higher
Truth. Produced by Brendan O’Brien, the new LP is
due on September 18 and is inspired by the stark
arrangements of the likes of Nick Drake and Daniel
Johnston. Expect to hear plenty of tracks from the
new LP during his acoustic shows in Christchurch,
Wellington and Auckland in November.
D
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06 SEPTEMBER 2015