The dust has settled, the release dates are set, and now Disney can go back to being secretive for a few more months. Yes, D23 2026 is officially over. Three full days of nothing but Disney news, Disney merch, and Disney madness. io9 was on the ground for the event and, below, we’ll get into some things we really loved about it and a few we did not.
We loved… the Star Wars footage
Sure, we pretty much knew that Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni was going to give fans the first footage from Ahsoka season two and Star Wars Starfighter, but it was still brand new footage from two Star Wars projects. And, sure, we would’ve loved a little tease at what’s coming after that, but it was just nice to finally see what the future of this franchise holds.
We loved… the future of feature animation
Star Wars and Marvel got most of the headlines, but it was Disney’s animated divisions that probably showed the brightest future. Pixar gave us updates on its next big release, Gatto, two highly anticipated sequels (Incredibles 3 and Coco 2), as well as showing footage from a new original film called Ghost Market. Disney Animation similarly focused on its next release, Hexed, announced a new original film, Clay, broke the news of Zootopia 3, and then not only showed a full scene from 2027’s Frozen III, but debuted two songs too. That’s how you give the fans what they want.
We loved… the X-Men
Like many things at D23, we had a pretty good idea Marvel Studios would announce its X-Men cast. But when it happened, it was still exciting. Plus, we got a few surprises too, such as Obsession‘s Inde Navarrette as Rogue. The cast is going to lead the next iteration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and now, fans can point back at D23 2026 as the moment when it all first came together.
We didn’t love… the shopping
More than anything else, D23 is best known for its shopping. Disney runs several specific and unique stores on the convention center floor each year, each filled with exclusive merch you can only buy there, and most are only accessible through a virtual queue system. Which means you have to be up at 6 a.m. every morning and choose to maybe get into one store per day. In general, the system worked okay, especially with standby lines opening later in the day. But it still wasn’t fun to be on your phone, refreshing like crazy, and enter one of the exclusive pin stores literally one second after 6 a.m., only for it to be sold out for the whole day. How can that not be bots? Again, there were ways around it, and some stores were easier than others, but it left many fans frustrated and tired.
We loved… Avatar‘s presence
While there was no mention of the future of Avatar movies or Avatar in the theme parks in the major panels, the convention center floor was something else. There, we got to see an amazing model of an upcoming Avatar expansion coming to Disney’s California Adventure as well as a huge display of props and characters from the three films in the series so far, which had a long line at all times.
We loved… the return of Indiana Jones
With Harrison Ford approaching 90, and the movies all but over, it would be safe to assume Indiana Jones has gone the way of the Lost Ark. But not yet, says Disney. In revealing the name of its upcoming Indiana Jones ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, it revealed that Ford himself is participating in the ride’s development, lending his likeness to its animatronics for the first time. It’s a small thing, but we loved it.
We loved… theme park construction
At the last D23 in 2024, Disney Parks announced a bunch of projects that felt like they were way too far into the future: A Monsters Inc. roller coaster, a Villain’s Land, a new Cars Land, etc. Well, two years after that, now those projects and many, many others are already being built. So there were updated photos, names, and so much more. Plus, all of it was not only a big part of the Disney Parks panel, but visible to everyone who attended the convention in an incredible Imagineering booth on the floor.
We didn’t love… the lack of surprises
This isn’t necessarily Disney’s fault, but even with all the exciting stuff announced, very little of it was unexpected. Anyone who reads up on Disney parks or movie rumors could have basically told you every single thing that was going to be discussed during the convention. Marvel had no big surprises. Lucasfilm had no big surprises. Disney Parks had one: news of an updated Disneyland Tomorrowland, and that’s about it. Confirmations are always nice, but the buzz of that out-of-the-blue revelation is always better. The convention this year was missing that.
We didn’t love… the lack of independents
At previous D23 events, Disney has allowed independent resellers to populate a few aisles of the convention center to sell their Disney merchandise. This has always been my personal favorite part of the show floor because you could dig through old relics for hidden gems. However, in 2026, those types of booths were not allowed to be part of D23, meaning that the entire show floor, with one or two small exceptions (such as a Pirates of the Caribbean fan-made Lego), was officially affiliated with Disney. You understand the company’s desire to have control, but it made the entire event feel way more corporate than it already was. And it’s already pretty corporate.
Everyone loved… Kathryn Hahn
Disney paraded out celebrity after celebrity over the weekend at the convention. Dwayne Johnson, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Hathaway, Sadie Sink, Ryan Gosling, the list goes on and on. But no one got the ovation that Kathryn Hahn did when she was officially announced to be playing Mother Gothel in the Tangled remake. The ovation shook the Honda Center like the Ducks won the Stanley Cup. The love even carried over to the next celeb, Jon Favreau, who introduced another Hahn project, Oswald. Yes, Disney fans love Kathryn Hahn, as do we all.
Were you at D23 this year? Do you have anything you particularly did or did not love? Let us know below.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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