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https://www.thenerdelement.com/2023/02/09/some-big-disney-updates/
Good evening, everyone! Today I want to share some really interesting news that I looked at in terms of Disney. So, let’s get started! According to the article that was released today, the announcement was made yesterday that Disneyland is coming up with the plan to have an experience called the Avatar experience. It is coming to the Southern California theme park. Currently, Pandora — The World of Avatar is a land themed to the James Cameron film at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom theme park. It hosts two attractions, Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Adventure, the Valley of Mo’ara, and themed dining and merchandise. However, when it comes to California, no further details were shared if these attractions would be replicated on the west coast during the announcement made by Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger in its Q1 2023 earning webcast on Wednesday. Since premiering in 2009, the “Avatar” franchise has become a major success, with the latest installment, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” grossing over $2 billion globally, ranking as one of the top-grossing movies ever made. The films are set in the world of Pandora, complete with lush scenery and surroundings. Iger also noted the film’s streaming success on Disney+ during the earnings call. Disneyland recently launched the Disney 100 celebration, marking a global celebration of the Walt Disney Company. As part of the anniversary, two new nighttime spectaculars have premiered, Wondrous Journeys and World of Color — ONE. New family-friendly attraction, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway also debuted. Splash Mountain will also be closing soon to be re-themed to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, inspired by the 2009 Disney film “The Princess and the Frog,” and expected to open in 2024. Later this year, a restaurant, Tiana’s Palace, themed to the film will be opening in Disneyland’s New Orleans area. A re-imagined expansion of family-friendly land, Mickey’s Toontown, is expected to open on March 8. I was actually surprised to hear about Avatar coming to Disneyland. The only thing I hope that it would not happen is that if they are going to put an attraction in it, it won’t replace the ride Monsters Inc in Disney’s California Adventure Park in Hollywood. I don’t think Disney wants to get rid of it, but I hope that does not happen because the park owns Pixar and it would not make sense to put Flight of Passage to replace it. I think it can go to replace Star Wars Launch Bay at Disneyland Park’s Tomorrowland. I’m pretty excited to see what it will look like!!
In terms of new Disney movies and during the earning calls, Iger also announced two new sequels to massive franchises, “Frozen” and “Toy Story.” A Toy Story themed land is currently at Walt Disney World while Frozen-themed lands are coming to Hong Kong Disneyland and Disneyland Paris later this year. Disney has announced that they will be making the movies Toy Story 5, Frozen 3, and Zootopia 2. Wow! These movies will be really interesting to see in the future. We don’t know when they are going to be coming out, but it will be soon rather than later.
So, what are your thoughts about the Avatar experience, and the new Disney movies coming out?! What do you guys think the experience or the attraction should replace? I would love to hear lots of comments, thoughts, opinions, questions, or concerns down below!
Stay tuned for Disney updates.
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Now that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor are in the rearview, it’s time to return to the Star Wars live-action show that started it all — The Mandalorian. But as with several Disney+ Star Wars projects, when a show takes place in the timeline is not always evident. But thanks to several interviews given by the show’s creators, we have an idea of where The Mandalorian all fits into the overall Star Wars saga. And exactly where the adventures of Din Djarin and baby Grogu overlap with the existing Star Wars series timeline. Here’s when The Mandalorian takes place.
How Many Years After Return of the Jedi Does The Mandalorian Take Place?
The first season of The Mandalorian took place approximately five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. So in Star Wars chronology terms, that is nine years after we meet Luke, Leia, and Han. It’s also five years since the death of the Emperor, and the destruction of the second Death Star in the Battle of Endor. Luke Skywalker is only beginning to build his Jedi training school at this point. A school we saw under construction in season two on an unnamed world. The show is also approximately 25 years before the events of The Force Awakens.
Is The Empire Still Around During The Mandalorian?
In this era, the young New Republic governs the galaxy, with former Rebel pilots in X-Wings patrolling the Outer Rim worlds like Nevarro. Although the Galactic Empire is technically no more, Imperial warlords remain out in charge of stormtrooper legions, like Moff Gideon. And in an effort to not become an overly militarized body, the New Republic, under the guidance of Mon Mothma, reduced their fleet by 90%. This leaves them effectively just as police in Outer Rim worlds.
What Other Star Wars Projects Overlap with The Mandalorian in the Timeline?
The Mandalorian doesn’t overlap with any other live-action Star Wars series, or any animated ones. At least not yet. The Ahsoka series will be a spin-off, and take place within the same timeframe as The Mandalorian. The upcoming Jon Watts series Skeleton Crew is also said to take place within The Mandalorian era as well. By the time we start season three, we imagine at least a year will have passed since the start of season one. So we’re likely now 24 years away from the sequel trilogy.
In early interviews, series creator Jon Favreau said that The Mandalorian would set up the birth of the First Order. We know the First Order only becomes prominent a few years before the events of The Force Awakens. So about 20 years from where we are in this series. But The Mandalorian has already set this up in many ways. The discovery of cloning vats filled with what look like prototype Snoke bodies hints at the future of the First Order’s leader. Not to mention its real leader, Emperor Palpatine. So although The Mandalorian is set firmly in a post-Return of the Jedi timeframe, it will set up many things left to the imagination in the sequels.
The Mandalorian season three drops on Disney+ on March 1.
The post Where Does THE MANDALORIAN Fit In the STAR WARS Timeline? appeared first on Nerdist.
Full of entertaining archetypes, action, and all manner of creatures and magic, Dungeons & Dragons feels made for the big screen. That said, previous live-action D&D movies haven’t been as amazing as one would hope. But Paramount Pictures is trying again with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The action-adventure focuses on a heist with a star-studded cast playing our band of heroes.
Here’s everything we know about Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Title
The D&D movie is testing the record for the longest movie title ever. It’s called Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves‘ Plot
As a tabletop roleplaying game, D&D is all about the quests, and Honor Among Thieves has a quest at the heart of the story. The trailer teases our heroes’ missions and their foes. It comes with a healthy dose of humor and silliness, a tone that seems just right for this adaptation.
Honor Among Thieves‘ official synopsis is as follows:
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.
A new featurette for the movie reveals new glimpses at the characters and world of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Take a look at how the epic journey unrolls in the clip and posters below.
We have to say this looks like an incredibly fun adventure.
Behind the Scenes
The movie features a screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, and Michael Gilio. The story is from Gilio and McKay. Goldstein and Daley direct (the duo also directed Game Night).
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves‘ Cast
This movie has an impressive cast of veteran actors and relative newcomers. Here’s who we know about so far:
- Chris Pine – Edgin, a bard
- Michelle Rodriguez – Holga, a barbarian
- Regé-Jean Page – Xenk, a paladin
- Justice Smith – Simon, a sorceror
- Sophia Lillis – Doric, a druid
- Hugh Grant – Forge Fitzwilliam, a rogue (and possibly the movie’s villain)
Chloe Coleman and Daisy Head also appear in the film, but we don’t have details about their roles yet.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves‘ Release Date
Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves arrives in theaters on March 31, 2023.
Originally published December 2, 2022.
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