Disney’s D23 Expo Delayed to 2022
Disney has delayed its biennial D23 Expo to 2022. The company announced the one-year delay on its social media pages on Monday afternoon.
The next D23 Expo was originally scheduled to take place in summer 2021 but will now be held on September 9-11 in 2022. Disney did not specify why the expo had been delayed, but stated that the revised date would coincide with the company’s founding in 1923 and be used to kick off Disney’s 100th anniversary. The event will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.
Recent D23 Expos have been glitzy, star-studded affairs, as well as significant marketing opportunities for Disney. The 2019 event featured high-profile talents such as Chris Pratt, Dwayne Johnson, Tom Holland, and Emily Blunt, as well as surprise reveals such as an Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ featuring prequel trilogy star Ewan McGregor.
Disney also used last year’s expo to feature titles ranging from “Black Widow” and “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker,” to “Frozen II” and “Ford v Ferrari.” The last D23 Expo was held in August of last year, several months before Disney+ launched and Disney used the expo to unveil a discounted bundle for the streaming service.
D23 Expo 2019 was an especially news-heavy event for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Disney used the event to tease several Disney+ series including “Loki,” “WandaVision, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “What If…?” “Ms. Marvel,” “She-Hulk,” “Moon Knight,” and “Hawkeye,” though additional information on most of those series remains scant.
A handful of the titles teased during the last D23 Expo, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe features “Black Widow” and “The Eternals,” have been repeatedly delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has also impacted Disney in ways beyond film and television production, such as via the closures of its various theme parks and cruise lines.
Though several of Disney’s upcoming titles have been delayed numerous times, the company recently released its live-action “Mulan” feature on Disney+ for $30. “WandaVision,” the streaming service’s first Marvel Cinematic Universe title, is expected to hit the platform in December, while the superhero franchise’s “Helstrom” series will premiere on Hulu on October 16.
