D23 Recap: 'Star Wars Clone Wars' Arrives Feb 2020, More On 'Togo,' 'Muppets,' 'Cassian Andor' & More [D23]

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Friday evening Disney + took the streaming world by storm with its two-hour presentation at D23 Expo, and it was the first moment the sheer amount of IP’s the Mouse owns genuinely sunk in. Everything from Marvel, to Star Wars, to The Muppets, even The Simpson’s theme graced us with its presence while waiting for the panel to begin – which admittedly still needs an adjustment period. While the talk of the panel was without question “The Mandalorian,” an Ewan McGregor led Obi-Wan series, and the announcement of three new Marvel shows – “Ms. Marvel,” “Moon Knight,” and “She-Hulk” – there were plenty of live-action films, Disney Channel reboots, unscripted television series, and more that are sure to please fans and families.

After an opening number from the cast of the new “High School Musical” series, Disney Channel took the stage announcing not only the previously mentioned series but an all-new “Lizzie McGuire” series from the original creator Terri Minsky. And while that was certainly enough to excite those millennials who grew up with the original series, it was the announcement of Hillary Duff’s return to her iconic character that rocked the room. The series will focus on Lizzie in her 30’s as she navigates life as an adult. The panel also announced Disney’s first foray into unscripted reality television with “The World According to Jeff Goldblum” and Kristen Bell’s “Encore!”.

National Geographic will be bringing us  “The World According to Jeff Goldblum,” which will be hosted by none other than Goldblum himself. National Geographic gave fans a peek inside the series including a new trailer for the show which delightfully features Goldblum at his Goldblumiest. Audiences will enter the curious mind of Jeff Goldblum in this new 12-episode series as the actor attempts to quench his thirst for sneakers, ice cream, tattoos, and more. Executive Producer Kristen Bell shared a first look trailer and a taste of what’s to come in the unscripted series, “Encore!” that brings together former castmates of high school musicals, tasking them with re-creating their original performance years after they last performed it, in a high school reunion like no other. Lastly, Muppets fans will be pleased to hear that their favorite puppets are coming to Disney Plus in a new short-form unscripted series titled “Muppets Now.” While not much was said regarding the project, the audience was treated to a nice slapstick bit of a lawyer telling Kermit the Frog what he can and can’t say regarding the new series. The video served as a nice tease as to the type of scenarios and content we can expect from “Muppets Now.”

Moving away from unscripted, Disney Plus also revealed a few post-launch original films that subscribers can look forward to. First up was “Stargirl” based off of the New York Times best-selling young adult novel by Jerry Spinelli. The film is directed by Julia Hart from a screenplay by Kristin Hahn, Julia Hart, and Jordan Horowitz and stars  Karan Brar, Maximiliano Hernandez, Darby Stanchfield, and Giancarlo Esposito. Next, audiences got a first look at “Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made” based on the best-selling book series by Stephan Pastis. The footage promised a fun, quirky family adventure, but the biggest surprise was that the film is directed by the Academy Award Winning filmmaker of “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy, with a screenplay by McCarthy and Pastis. The film will follow the quirky, deadpan hero, Timmy Failure, who, along with his 1,500-pound polar bear partner Total, operates Total Failure Inc., a Portland detective agency. “Timmy Failure” will hit Disney Plus early 2020. Lastly, Disney unveiled a new survival film about a man and his dog. Based on a true story, “Togo” is set in the winter of 1925 across the treacherous terrain of the Alaskan tundra and is directed by Ericson Corestars and stars Willem Dafoe. “Togo” will hit Disney Plus this December. Subscribers not only can look forward to those films, along with the Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader Holiday Comedy “Noelle,” but a new original scripted series from Executive Producer and recurring guest star Gina Rodriguez in “Diary of a Female President.” Starring Tess Romero as the lead, the series uses narration from the diary of a 12-year-old Cuban-American girl named Elena as she journies through the trials of middle school ultimately setting her on a path to become the President of the United States. The show will be a half-hour single-camera series and launches on Disney Plus January 2020.

“The Mandalorian” certainly brought the house down at the Disney Plus panel, but the head of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, also teased some new adventures fans can expect from the galaxy far, far, away. “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” fans can rejoice as we now have an official release date for the final season. The beloved animated series will hit Disney Plus February 2020 with twelve new episodes. Lastly, Kennedy invited Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk to the stage to tease the new Cassian Andor series currently in development. While no official title was revealed, and not much was said regarding the project, audiences were told they could expect the series to follow Cassian Andor’s adventures as a rebel spy during the formative years of the Rebellion, before the events of “A New Hope.”

With all of that content coming your way shortly, Disney is undoubtedly sparing no expense at making something for just about anyone and everyone making Disney Plus a must-have streaming platform. Disney Plus launches on November 12th, 2019.