X-Men, Doomsday, Vision Quest, Starfighter and Ahsoka: Breaking Down Every D23 Reveal

D23 weekend delivered a flood of Marvel and Star Wars news, and I want to walk through every bit of it, because there is a lot to unpack here for fans, from a brand new X-Men cast to a second Avengers Doomsday trailer that has already reshaped how I feel about that movie.

The New X-Men Cast Reveal Has Fans Divided, and I Don't Get the Backlash

Kevin Feige brought out the new X-Men cast at D23, with Sadie Sink, Kit Connor and Samara Weaving already rumored ahead of time, but there were real surprises too. India Navarrete showed up as Rogue, Maya Boyd was revealed as Storm, Christopher Abbott is playing Professor X, and Adam Driver appeared separately from a studio in Britain as Magneto, alongside a new X-Men logo. Some fans immediately pushed back, especially over Navarrete landing Rogue instead of Cailee Spaeny, who had been rumored for the role, and over Maya Boyd, a Broadway performer with no real on camera credits, being cast as Storm despite rumors that character might not even appear until Black Panther 3.

I don't share that frustration. "It's really kind of shocking to me because these were the same people who [were] falling all over themselves for her work in Obsession," I said about the reaction to Navarrete, noting she also spent multiple seasons on Superman and Lois before any of this. I think Marvel is deliberately leaning into younger actors who built their reputations in independent film and on Broadway rather than chasing established stars, and I like that approach. I also think Ryan Coogler being involved in selecting Maya Boyd, similar to how he was involved in casting Danai Gurira and Dominique Thorne-style decisions before, matters, because I have criticized James Gunn in the past for selecting Milly Alcock as Supergirl without director Craig Gillespie's input. Having the director invested in casting choices is the right way to do it.

Why I Think Dafne Keen Could Join as X23 Without Replacing Hugh Jackman

Feige confirmed this is not the full X-Men cast, and I expect more names are coming, though maybe not the characters fans are hoping for. I don't think Iceman or Angel are locks, but there have reportedly been talks with Dafne Keen about returning as X23. Given how young this cast skews, I think bringing in Keen as a new flavor of Wolverine, while Hugh Jackman's older Logan keeps wandering a separate universe, makes sense. I don't see any business reason to retire Jackman's Wolverine right now, especially after Deadpool and Wolverine made $1.3 billion, and Jackman has said he wants to keep playing the role as long as possible. There are also rumors that Jackman's Wolverine and a version of Spider-Man are on a separate mission in Doomsday that could be setting up a future Wolverine and Spider-Man team-up film.

Samara Weaving "Understood the Assignment" With Her Emma Frost Tease

Samara Weaving posted an Instagram Stories photo of herself sunbathing in a thong bikini while reading Emma Frost comics. I think this was a smart move on her part. "If there's anyone who understood the assignment of the character they are going to play in X-Men, it is Samara Weaving," I said, and I think it signals a willingness from this new X-Men to push into territory the MCU has been more hesitant about tonally in the past.

Ahsoka Season 2's Trailer Brings Back Hayden Christensen as a Force Ghost Guide

The Ahsoka season 2 trailer showed an expanded, more action heavy approach, and I liked the idea of Hayden Christensen's Anakin returning as a force ghost guide for Ahsoka. My concern is how much Christensen will actually appear across the season versus being a recurring check-in presence, since Star Wars has typically used force ghosts sparingly rather than as a focus. I also liked seeing more of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, more with Sabine and Ezra, and Thrawn appearing to have dropped a few pounds after criticism of his look. My worry is that the trailer may have shown us the best moments of the season, similar to how season one started strong before falling off.

Disney Held Back the Starfighter Teaser So It Wouldn't Get Lost in the Shuffle

I initially thought I had a bad source when Starfighter's teaser did not go public at D23 while Ahsoka's did, since I had been told the opposite would happen. Going back to that source, I was told Disney decided not to release the Starfighter teaser publicly because they are proud of it and wanted it to have its own dedicated moment rather than getting buried among everything else at D23. From what I've heard, the teaser that was shown internally went over very well, looked cinematic, and introduced a number of new characters people have been asking for.

Vision Quest's Trailer Sets Up a Father-Son AI Story With James Spader Returning as Ultron

The Vision Quest trailer impressed me, evoking both the Agatha and WandaVision seasons as Vision explores an AI-generated world to figure out what happened to him. James Spader returns as his father figure, not just as Ultron, sporting a large beard, and there is a version of Jarvis back as well, plus Todd Stashwick posted a photo of himself as Paladin. Paul Bettany's Vision has to sort out which memories are his own versus other visions, and Tommy is part of the story too, recast because the original child actor aged out of the role, alongside an actress from Star Trek: Picard season 3. I did not spot Kerry Condon's Friday in the trailer, and I'm curious whether this show could eventually lead toward reuniting Wanda, Vision and their family, and potentially toward a West Coast Avengers project down the line involving Wonder Man and a returning Hawkeye.

The Doomsday Trailer Quieted My Doubts About the Buildup to Doctor Doom

"Sweet Mary, mother of God, that Doomsday trailer. I got to tell you, I loved that thing," I said after watching the second Avengers Doomsday trailer. I had been skeptical that the buildup to Doom had been strong enough, but this trailer, with Vanessa Kirby describing Doom as someone who was "caring" and "kind" before he was "broken," and Thor threatening him after apparently losing people he cares about, gave me a lot to hook into. I did note the story beats feel similar to Baron Zemo's arc in Captain America: Civil War, so the real question for me is what makes Doom's motivation distinct.

Avengers Doomsday Presales Are Running 65% Ahead of Spider-Man's Pace

Disney opened full advance ticket sales for Avengers Doomsday roughly four months before release, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, after just two days of presales, Doomsday is running about 65% ahead of the pace set by Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which went on to open at $365 million domestically and over $900 million worldwide. No major blockbuster has started advance sales this early, so it isn't fully clear how predictive these numbers are. Meanwhile, wide presales for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey Part 3 have not begun, but early IMAX 70mm screenings have reportedly seen dozens of sellouts.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Crosses $2 Billion While End of Oak Street Stumbles for Warner Bros

Spider-Man: Brand New Day passed $2 billion in global ticket sales after just three weekends, the second fastest film to hit that mark behind Avengers: Endgame's 11 days, reaching it in 17. The film sits at $785 million domestically and $1.3 billion overseas. Separately, The Odyssey has passed $500 million domestically, making it Christopher Nolan's most successful film at the domestic box office. On the other side, Warner Bros' End of Oak Street opened at just over $20 million domestically against a reported $80 to $92 million budget, and I expect it to drop 60 to 70% in its second weekend. Looking at Warner Bros' year overall, Wuthering Heights made $242 million worldwide, The Bride made $24 million on an $80 million budget, The Mummy made $90 million on a $22 million budget, Mortal Kombat 2 made $129 million on an $80 million budget, Supergirl made $126 million on a $180 million budget, and Evil Dead made $71 million on a $20 million budget. I think Dune 3 has a real shot at making a billion dollars if it's good, following the pattern set by Dune and Dune: Part Two, and I expect Practical Magic 2 to perform similarly to The Devil Wears Prada 2, while Clayface and an upcoming Tom Cruise and Alejandro Iñárritu film remain bigger question marks.

Lanterns Episode One Impressed Me, Especially Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre

I thought the first episode of Lanterns was a strong start, with Kyle Chandler playing multiple versions of Hal Jordan across different timelines. "Aaron Pierre did an excellent job in the show last night," I said, praising how he played stillness opposite Chandler's more grizzled Hal. Kelly Macdonald and Garret Dillahunt also stood out for me, and I think the show, from Damon Lindelof, leans into pointed social commentary about fear of outsiders that isn't subtle, similar in tone to Lindelof's Watchmen. I don't think viewers should assume the ambiguous ending confirms anything definitively yet, since the show already established that multiple alien species can pass undetected as humans.

Remembering Hayden Panettiere

I also want to acknowledge the death of Hayden Panettiere at 36. Her representative told The Hollywood Reporter she was "an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her." She started acting as a child in A Bug's Life and Remember the Titans, broke out playing Claire Bennet in Heroes, and later starred in Nashville and Scream 4. She published a memoir earlier this year detailing struggles with addiction and postpartum depression. TMZ has reported that cardiac arrest was involved and that the word overdose was used, and that she had reportedly been in contact with an ex-boyfriend previously accused of domestic violence. I think there was real room for a comeback after her memoir was so well received, and it's a reminder to show grace to people going through struggles we don't see.

Which X-Men casting choice are you most unsure about, India Navarrete as Rogue or Maya Boyd as Storm?