Oh So Geeky

What San Diego Comic Con is to all things film franchises and comic books, D23 is to the future of Disney's theme parks, shows, and movies. As Marvel moves into its next phase after Avengers: Endgame , and Disney continues to dominate the film industry, lingering anticipation is an understatement for what's to come in the next few years. Offering a conveyor belt of sneak previews and announcements, D23 delivered epic news for Disney Plus, upcoming Marvel projects, and the Star Wars franchise.  Here's a breakdown of some of D23's biggest revelations. What are you the most excited for? Let me know in the comments below!

LucasFilm / Disney This weekend the 2019 Star Wars Celebration in Chicago wasted zero time getting fans pumped up for the next long-awaited installment. Opening the weekend ceremony with the title reveal of Star Wars: Episode IX and a teaser with the cast in person, our anticipation and hype was already on edge. While news of the latest actors to join the LucasFilm family was well-established for the better part of 2018, one surprise blew up the internet like the Death Stars being blasted into a million pieces. In case you're avoiding spoilers for the next Star Wars film set for release in December 2019, this post contains info about one legendary character's epic return. Read at your risk!

Ready? Get set! Mark your calendars! Go! sums up how I'm feeling over the past week as several trailers dropped for movies coming up throughout 2019. Instead of doing a usual Trailer Reactions post to all of them ( Avengers: Endgame will get its own post soon), I thought about just talking about the movies and tv series that are definitely getting some hype this summer. What do you guys think about these movies? Are there any other trailers I should check out? Let me know if you're excited or disappointed in the comments below!

Some movies just have really bad luck. One wouldn't think that this would be the case for Star Wars, but since its Disneyfied resurgence in 2015 the beloved phenomenon has had its ups and downs. The highs have been relatively good enough to give the movies a new life, while the lows of critically-panned sequels and spin-offs are enough to put a kink in the franchise's hype. Overshadowed by high expectations and franchise-overexposure,  Solo: A Star Wars Story has the unfortunate disadvantage of landing right in the middle. Set before the original Star Wars films, young Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) joins forces with a group of smugglers in order to make good on a deal that went sour. Along the way, he reconciles with a partner-in-crime he thought he'd lost for good, gains enemies, and makes new friends as he aims to become the best pilot in the galaxy.

Mary Poppins, the British superhero equipped with a talking umbrella and bewitched carpetbag, first debuted onto the big-screen nearly fifty-four years ago. Having become a childhood classic starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in the hotly contested adaptation between author P.L. Traver and Walt Disney, the beloved nanny makes a comeback in a familiar and fresh "remake-quel" of the original. Set twenty-five years after the 1964's story, Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt) returns to the Banks’s home where Michael (Ben Whishaw) and Jane (Emily Mortimer) are all grown-up and have fallen on hard times at the height of the Great Depression. Michael, in particular, is struggling to overcome his wife's passing when he learns that the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank is about to repossess his family's home. While Michael and Jane race against an impossible deadline, Mary and an exuberant lamplighter Jack (Lin-Manuel Miranda) take Michael's children with a series of...

Fifty-four years ago Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke starred in the timeless Disney classic Mary Poppins. Now set for her own sequel in an all-new adventure starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the classic magical nanny returns to check up on the Banks children going through struggles of their own as parents and help them believe in the impossible again. Disney recently dropped the official trailer AND supercalifragilistic does it look like my Christmas is going to be a 1000x full of feels than it usually is. Let's check it out!

Carrie Fisher didn't expect to become famous, let alone the icon of a major franchise.  Daughter to actress Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher, she started studying the arts as a young adult, and then sort of fell into showbusiness by taking one small job and then landing the role of a lifetime. In 1977, Princess Leia in George Lucas's A New Hope became a beacon for what would become generations of fans. Her character's intelligence, tenacity and resilient attitude set herself among the best and most beloved heroines in film history. After being absent from the big screen for nearly thirty years, the fandom never thought Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia would ever return. When Disney rebooted the franchise in 2015 with The Force Awakens , one of the greatest most anticipating moments was to see the original characters come back. Leia returned as a sophisticated General still fighting the good fight against evil. Though Fisher unexpectedly passed a...

Photo Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures In 2015, Disney brought back George Lucas's Star Wars with ambitious plans to churn out films until 2020. Following a long-awaited ten years after the prequels disappointed the masses, Star Wars: The Force Awakens renewed the beloved franchise to a solid, mixed reaction. Leaving its sequel with a lot of questions to answer, The Last Jedi had one job to do, and unfortunately, didn't get it exactly right. THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS. Please return when you've seen the movie.

In 2015, Disney revitalized the galactically popular Star Wars franchise with the exciting reboot Star Wars: The Force Awakens . In the seventh installment, Rey (Daisy Ridley) was an orphaned scavenger who discovers her astonishing Jedi abilities and becomes entangled in Luke Skywalker's legacy, the rise of the First Order, and the dark Jedi-in-training Kylo Ren. As the follow-up to the previous flick,  The Last Jedi   aims to be a massive success at the box office and hopefully  answers a lot of questions its predecessor left behind. Before we hop into our Millennium Falcons and hit hyperdrive to the movie theaters this weekend, here are five questions that need to be answered in Star Wars: The Last Jedi ! Hope you enjoy!

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures The time has finally arrived young Padawans! After months of the first teaser release , the Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer dropped. As expected excitement for the eighth film, which will return to the Resistance's fight against the First Order, and Rey's ascent/descent with the force, was absolutely insane as we get a bigger idea of what's going to happen next. Let's get straight into the new trailer!  SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

Can you believe we're more than halfway through 2017 already? This nugget of a realization made me think of the movies I've seen so far. Plenty of good, enjoyable movies have come out already, and a lot more promising ones are on the way. I'm hoping the next few months expands this list since it's pretty short right now, but here are my favorite movies from the past several months. What movies stick out in your mind this year? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

It's not something I fangirl about a lot, but if I could, I'd give anything to go back to the golden age of Hollywood, just to walk the sets and see all of cinema's greatest stars up close and personal. Second best to fulfill that wish was Hollywood Studios. As one of five theme parks in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, every vibe of that golden age comes alive there. The main streets are lined decked out in vintage decor and restaurants pay homage to legendary hang-outs like The Brown Derby. You feel like you're walking around the studio lots venturing from one shooting location to another. As Disney revamps the site for larger Star Wars and Toy Story lands, those retro vibes are slowly changing. The most recent attraction going for a complete overhaul The Great Movie Ride. Built as a replication of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California, the ride takes guests literally into the movies.

Photo Credit: Beauty and the Beast / Walt Disney Studios The original 1991 Beauty and the Beast left Disney fanatics with a lot of questions. Many stem from the Enchantress, her origins, and why she casts a spell on The Prince as a young child and curses him into a beast. With the new live-action movie, Disney had an opportunity with the revived story to close plotholes. However, with more insight into the Enchantress, come a few more problems. Namely, how the Enchantress nearly shatters the epic love story in the new Beauty and the Beast. If you haven’t seen the new movie starring Emma Watson, here is your warning: There’s nothing but HUGE spoilers below! You’ve been warned!

Photo Credit: Beauty and the Beast / Walt Disney Studios A remake rarely fills a gap of something that simply wasn’t there before in the original. As Disney re-imagines a string of their own animated classics into live-action flicks, it’s difficult to imagine why they’d want to toy with perfection. Their transformation of the timeless Beauty and the Beast is truly spellbinding, if a little imperfect. In a tale as old as time, Emma Watson stars as Belle, an independent bookworm who dreams of a bigger life than the one her small, provincial town expects. As a self-absorbed veteran Gaston (Luke Evans) sets out to own her affection, she is compelled to break a powerful spell held over another self-absorbed beast (Dan Stevens), who is actually a prince in disguise. Only one is truly worthy of her kindness to discover more than what meets the eye.

Disney's new live-action remake  Beauty and the Beast  starring Emma Watson is right around the corner. I can't wait to see what Disney has in store re-imagining one of its most popular animated classics (and my favorite princess). The new take on the heroine's adventure to break a powerful spell promises to be a grand fairytale and is inspiring artists all over the world. Below is a collection of artwork inspired of the re-imagining with credit given to their creators. Be sure to click on the link below the images to see more amazing work. Are you excited for Beauty and the Beast? Feel free to share below.   Hope you enjoy!

Remakes have started to run their repetitive course, but one studio might have found the secret. Disney's reinventing their classic animated princesses into live-action heroines, and the results have been fairly good so far. Maleficent cast a spell on the box office and Cinderella dazzled audiences. Next on their plate is Beauty and the Beast , and I for one cannot wait for 2017. I'm probably fairly biased. Belle is my favorite princess from Disney - both the classic 1991 animated movie and ABC's network show  Once Upon A Time . She's a bookworm, intelligent, kind-hearted, curious, and friendly. With the new release of the trailer, I'm even more excited to see another version of her tale.

Photo Credit: Cinderella / Walt Disney Studios Cinderella has been reinvented numerous times. A story of a young girl whose parents passed away and is left to serve her wicked step-family. Banished from attending a grand ball held by the prince, a fairy godmother makes her dreams come true. Once again, the Disney company re-imagines their classic animated film into a live-action delight. As the titular character, 25-year-old Lily James glides into center stage as Ella giving a wondrously charming performance. Being cast a role in a Disney film for a character of such an iconic reputation is like winning the Hollywood lottery. She's innocent and charming, but also a grounded fresh face offering delicate charisma. Holding onto her morals as the heroine, the British native brings a truthful, inner peace rare as the main character whose animated version has left a signature influence. In trying not to compare the original Evil Stepmother to her version, it was hard...

Taking a stroll down Pixar lane, their animated creations have filled our childhoods with so many wonderful movies. When I think of their filmography over the years, it's hard to believe how they've turned ordinary objects into such beloved, popular characters. Thinking about their movies lately made me wonder what objects stood out the most - not necessarily characters like Woody from Toy Story or the automobiles from Cars - but the extra little props they use which makes a huge impact on their story or are just plain neat to look at. It made me wonder what my favorite objects in Pixar movies are.Here are my top five!  What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments below!

John over at Hitchcock's World began a marathon earlier this summer about Women in Film; a challenge for bloggers to spotlight a female character from any film genre or time period and explain the various qualities that make them a strong character in the masculine entertainment industry. There were a lot of interesting choices. As a big Harry Potter fan I thought I'd write about J.K. Rowling's range complex witches like Hermione Granger or Professor McGonagall, or George Lucas's Princess Leia. However, Elizabeth Swann in the  Pirates of the Caribbean franchise caught my attention and held it more strongly. Growing up, I remember seeing the first three films in theaters, and of course, was overjoyed by Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow - as most of the world was at that time. But also Keira Knightley as the governor's daughter turned pirate, wife, and mother was an interesting evolution I didn't notice as the films rolled out. The adventurous Pirat...