![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/fe1ca3ca948f2428527e8530c0170f8d36-josh-damaro.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\")
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\n A Miss Piggy movie sure would be nice, Mr. D\u2019Amaro.
\n Photo: Jade Gao\/AFP via Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
It\u2019s that time again, when Disney and its thousands of devoted fans descend on Anaheim to partake in its biennial fan convention D23. There, all arms of the Walt Disney Company \u2014 the multiple studios, television, parks, streaming, gaming, music, and more \u2014\u00a0simultaneously bask in the glow of nostalgia and take the time to tease their future. Barely a month after Comic-Con, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige will be back onstage to treat Disney fans to news of Avengers: Doomsday and, if the rumors are true, X-Men. Meanwhile, new Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni will likely head up his own first D23 panel after taking the leadership reins from Kathleen Kennedy. This will also be the first time D\u2019Amaro, the former Parks Guy<\/a>, takes the D23 stage as the head of Disney overall. How will he fare? Especially since previous CEO Bob Iger won\u2019t be too far away; he\u2019s being honored with the con\u2019s Disney Legend award alongside the likes of Anne Hathaway, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Jerry Bruckheimer. With all that in mind, we have some questions.<\/p>\n Despite former CEO Iger announcing<\/a> that the two main streaming services will be officially integrated in 2026, Disney has been fairly bullish on how Hulu and Disney+ together would look. One app? A tab? Will Hulu go away completely? It seems as if the company is content with the way the two work in tandem now, supplying each other with their titles and coaxing subscribers to buy into their multiple streaming-bundle deals. But will there be additional announcements this weekend? In his first earnings call as CEO<\/a> earlier this month, D\u2019Amaro did speak on the possibility of introducing a free streaming offering of some kind. Maybe he will unveil a sneak peek at what that entails.<\/p>\n After Sora shuttered<\/a>, thus ending Iger and Disney\u2019s investment<\/a> in OpenAI, D\u2019Amaro eagerly picked up the AI thread for his reign. During his earnings call, D\u2019Amaro shone a spotlight on all the company\u2019s AI tools, but that messaging was aimed at shareholders, which has us wondering whether he will continue his positive AI spin in front of legions of Disney fans, especially during a convention that has a handful of panels on the docket celebrating the company\u2019s most beloved hand-drawn animated flicks. We\u2019re curious about what this crowd\u2019s temperature on AI will look like if D\u2019Amaro decides to pitch the fans the way he pitches the shareholders.<\/p>\n Marvel might have had a grand return to Comic-Con\u2019s Hall H<\/a>, but just a month later, rumors are running rampant about some even more exciting reveals at D23. That\u2019s all thanks to the X-Men. We\u2019ve known that Beef and Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier has been tasked with helming the MCU\u2019s forthcoming X-Men movie. Our first bit of X-casting came from Spider-Man: Brand New Day\u2019s introduction of (spoiler!) Sadie Sink as Jean Grey<\/a>. Since then, reports<\/a> have surfaced that Samara Weaving was recently cast as Emma Frost, while Kit Connor is in talks to play Scott Summers. Obviously, Marvel has another movie out this year to focus on, Avengers: Doomsday, so that\u2019ll be the main jewel in its portion of the company\u2019s entertainment showcase on Friday evening. We\u2019ll likely get more Robert Downey Jr., the Avengers cast, and the original Fox X-Men, but could they possibly pass the baton to the new gen? More so, will we finally get a look at the MCU\u2019s new Professor X and Magneto? Time will tell.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not only D\u2019Amaro\u2019s first global fan-facing appearance as CEO; it will also be Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan\u2019s first time addressing Star Wars fans as, respectively, the new chief creative officer\u2013president and co-president of Lucasfilm after taking over from Kathleen Kennedy<\/a>. Lucasfilm hasn\u2019t had a terrific year with its first film in theaters since 2019\u2019s The Rise of Skywalker. The Mandalorian and Grogu notched an all-time low for the franchise<\/a>. But there is a second season of Filoni\u2019s Ahsoka to promote and, even splashier, a Ryan Gosling\u2013starring Starfighter film<\/a> out next May. We have little to no details on Starfighter other than a fantastic cast composed of Gosling, Amy Adams, Matt Smith, and Mia Goth, so maybe D23 will be the time to reveal something, anything else. Surely, there has to be some footage from Starfighter and Ahsoka, but aside from those two projects, we can\u2019t be too sure how much of a swing Lucasfilm will take with this panel in terms of additional announcements since it has Star Wars Celebration in April 2027.<\/p>\n When it comes to the Muppets, Disney giveth and Disney taketh. Parks fans lost Muppet*Vision 3D<\/a> but got a Muppets overlay in (the formerly Aerosmith) Rock \u2019n\u2019 Roller Coaster. Meanwhile, Rizzo the Rat and Bean Bunny rejoined<\/a> the Muppets, and the gang got a special with Sabrina Carpenter<\/a> in February that received an incredible reception<\/a>, though there hasn\u2019t been word on whether Disney will order a full season or not. Looking at the D23 schedule, the only Muppets panel is \u2026 Seth MacFarlane promoting his Muppets cover album by discussing Muppet musical moments. Then there is the Miss Piggy movie that Jennifer Lawrence, Cole Escola<\/a>, and Emma Stone<\/a> have talked up this past year on various podcasts and in interviews, but will Disney actually let them run with it? The House of Mouse has yet to officially confirm it, and it feels too good to be true. But the Muppets \u2014 and the rest of us \u2014 could use a win.<\/p>\n My friends, no. Up next in the pipeline from live-action to animation are Lilo & Stitch 2 and Tangled. But there does seem to be fewer of them in the works lately, especially after the muted box-office performances<\/a> of Snow White and Moana. Will this give Disney a chance to focus more on its feature-animation studios, Disney Animation and Pixar? We hope we\u2019ll get a look at Hexed, Frozen 3, Gatto, and Incredibles 3. Two sequels, two originals, and no more live-actions<\/a> \u2014 one can dream.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Vulture Daily<\/p>\n An entertainment newsletter for the pop-culture obsessed.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n