D23 2017

Disney's D23 Expo, which occurred over the weekend, revealed a lot of information regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as a multitude of other Disney projects. D23, held every two years, is very similar to the annual San Diego Comic Con but exclusively for Disney Studios and owned properties, regardless Disney/Marvel will still have a reportedly large presence at the 2017 SDCC, coming up in a few days. July 20th - 23rd  to be exact

There were numerous costumes and props on display for the upcoming Thor Ragnarok and Black Panther movies. Details were released about the Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout ride which has taken the place of the iconic Tower of Terror at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. But the biggest and most crowd-pleasing revelations regarded the highly anticipated Avengers Infinity War mega blockbuster.


Josh Brolin, the voice of Thanos, was on hand to uncover a set of amazingly well-crafted and detailed statues of The Mad Titan and his generals The Black Order. The Black Order is a villainous group that aids Thanos in his conquests throughout the Marvel Multiverse. Each one possessing impressive powers that make them nearly as much a threat as Thanos himself. Below, on the left is Corvus Glaive, the sinister right-hand-man to Thanos and a brilliant tactician with a double bladed staff that can cut through anything...potentially even Captain America's Vibranium shield. Plus as long as the staff remains unbroken Corvus Glaive can not be killed. Next to Corvus Glaive is his wife Proxima Midnight. Proxima Midnight is a fierce fighter with enhanced intelligence, agility, and endurance. Like Corvus Glaive, she also possesses a staff, but one that can harness the power of a sun. In the middle of the image is, of course, Thanos, his bare fist in the air. To his left is Ebony Maw who can talk anyone into anything he wants to, making him one of the most threatening of the four. Finally, on the right is Cull Obsidian. Known as Black Dwarf in the comics, his name was most likely changed to avoid offending anyone. Cull Obsidian is a fearless, brutal warrior with superhuman strength, density, and durability.
 

Four new foes, plus an alien army known as Outriders, will be introduced in Avengers Infinity War...all at once. Considering the cast also includes every Marvel hero to appear in a film to date and maybe some from television or Netflix, it doesn't seem to me that The Black Order will get proper introductions and almost certainly no development. Which will contribute to the criticism that the MCU lacks interesting villains. However with Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of Captain America Winter Soldier and Civil War, at the helm I am cautiously optimistic.

Speaking of the gigantic cast, most of them appeared at the D23 Expo for an even bigger reveal than The Black Order. With Super Producer Kevin Feige in the center, the lights dimmed and the trailer for Avengers Infinity War played on the screen for the first time ever. It will not officially be released until a later date...possibly not until Thor Ragnarok premieres in November. No video has surfaced online but several sites have written descriptions. SPOILERS!!!

     The footage began with Thor crashing into the windshield of the Guardians of the Galaxy’s Milano ship, with Rocket reacting to him like he’s a bug on a windshield. They bring Thor into the ship, Mantis wakes him up, and Thor asks, “Who the Hell are you guys?
     Thor is heard saying, “Something’s very wrong,” and shots include a distraught-looking Loki holding up the Tesseract, Peter Parker on a school bus with the hair on his arms standing up, and Iron Man standing with the Guardians. “Fun isn’t really something one considers when balancing the universe,” Thanos says, as the teaser then cuts to Gamora’s reaction. “But this does put a smile on my face.”
     Quick shots of then seen are Star-Lord, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man all in battle, with the latter in an armroed Spidey suit. Winter Soldier and Black Panther are seen, along with what appears to ban imprisoned Vision, an unmasked Captain America with noticeably longer hair, Iron Man back in what looks like the Hulkbuster armor and Black Widow with blonde hair. Things crescendo with a shot of Thanos using the Infinity Gauntlet, literally throwing a planet at the Marvel heroes. - from cbr.com

Disney covered several other upcoming movies at the D23 Expo from Disney, Disney Animation and Pixar, including the long awaited Incredibles 2, but their was still more to go. Lucasfilms released a behind the scenes video from the production of Star Wars 8 or as it's officially called The Last Jedi. Since this has gone on long enough, I'll just link it for you to enjoy.