New Rock Stars Predict X-Men's Full Cast Reveal, a Vision Quest Trailer, and a Wonder Man Twist at D23

Published 19 August 2026. Words like "tonight" or "next week" refer to that date.

We spent the night before Disney's D23 Entertainment Showcase running through everything we expect to hear, and the headline for us is simple: we think Marvel is about to reveal most of its X-Men movie cast, and there's a real chance Vision Quest finally gets a trailer.

This matters because D23 only happens every two years, so whatever Disney announces tomorrow is likely to shape the next two years of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney Animation output, not some far-off 2035 slate.

Star Wars Starfighter Should Get a Big Push, Even Without a Panel Appearance Confirmed

We expect Star Wars Starfighter to be part of the presentation given how much is riding on it after Mandalorian and Grogu. Someone known to the show works as a writer on Starfighter, and their social feed has been "very like gearing up for D23," though we were careful to caveat that with a "don't quote me on that." We noted the film, directed by Sean Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, did not get any mention at San Diego Comic-Con even though both Levy and Gosling were there promoting their other collaboration, Ghost Rider. Since the movie is already fully wrapped and set for a May 2027 release with no Star Wars Celebration happening before then, we think D23 could serve as the real launch of its marketing campaign, positioning it as Disney's answer to the classic "handsome rogue" Harrison Ford era of Star Wars.

We Expect Marvel to Reveal Most of the X-Men Movie's Cast

Asked directly whether X-Men news is coming, our answer was that we think we get all of it. "I think that they're going to announce full cast tomorrow," was the prediction, on the reasoning that Marvel just wrapped the X-Men '97 animated finale and wants to keep momentum going by announcing big names now. So far the only castings reported in legitimate press are Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, and Kit Connor as Cyclops. We floated Charles Melton (Beef, May December, Warfare) as a rumored contender for Beast and his Beef co-star Kailey Spaeny as a rumored Rogue. Jayme Lawson of Sinners has been one of the names mentioned most for Storm, and we're personally rooting for her. We also discussed Cynthia Erivo and Jodie Turner-Smith as older, higher-profile names floated for Storm, though we pointed out that casting either of them, both in their mid-30s to early 40s, would put them at roughly the same age as the actors being approached for Charles Xavier and Magneto, which creates an awkward teacher-student age gap. Our overall read is that the young cast will likely skew early-to-mid 20s to match Sink and Connor, while Xavier will probably go to a recognizable, older "movie star" type the way the original films used Patrick Stewart as a trump card.

We also discussed a rumor that the first film's core lineup may be modest, focused on roughly five X-Men: Jean, Scott, Beast, Angel, and Rogue, with Storm almost certainly included as well since we don't think Marvel would sideline its most prominent mutant of color. We were surprised Angel made a rumored list over a character like Iceman or Kitty Pryde, especially since Angel hasn't landed well in prior films.

Wolverine and Magneto Present the Trickiest Casting Puzzles

A viewer suggested Saturday Night actor Matt Wood for Wolverine, and we acknowledged he was great in that film but noted the character carries a uniquely "thankless" burden given how recently and thoroughly Hugh Jackman played the role, including his Deadpool and Wolverine comments about wanting to play him "until I die." We also mentioned hearing a rumor that Dafne Keen's X-23 could appear in the upcoming X-Men film. On Magneto, we raised the concern, credited to our colleague Eric Voss's prior videos, that the character's Holocaust origin becomes harder to use as time passes in the real world, meaning Marvel may need to either establish that mutants age differently or invent a new historical tragedy for him. We noted the only real rumor circulating is Adam Driver's name, with Kevin Feige reportedly saying every time they approach Driver he turns the role down.

Vision Quest Has Been Sitting for Years, and We Think a Trailer Is Overdue

Vision Quest is confirmed for October, but as of our stream there had been no trailer, no set photos, and almost no marketing. According to writers known to have been in the writers' room, full scripts existed roughly four years ago, before the strikes, meaning the show has likely been reworked since. Terry Matalas, who also ran the Star Trek: Picard series, is showrunner, a different creative lead than either WandaVision or Agatha All Along, though some of the same writers carried over. Paul Bettany returns as Vision and James Spader returns voicing or playing some version of Ultron, though it's unclear whether the AI characters will look like the actors or appear more abstract. We disagreed slightly on whether a trailer would drop at D23, but agreed the show is running close enough to its 30-day marketing window that it should be a strong candidate. We're also calling Vision Quest a potential sleeper hit, reasoning that WandaVision carried high expectations and delivered while Agatha All Along had modest expectations and overdelivered, meaning Vision Quest's currently low profile could work in its favor.

Daredevil Born Again Season 3 and a Rumored Second Special Presentation

Daredevil: Born Again season 3 is set for early next year, and cast members including Vincent D'Onofrio have already been doing press. We wouldn't be surprised by a footage tease, potentially a single fight scene, and speculated about a Defenders-style tease bringing back Mike Colter. We also discussed an unconfirmed rumor that two special presentations are in the works for next year, following Punisher: One Last Kill. We floated the idea that Defenders is more likely than another Punisher special given concerns about overusing that character, and suggested Iron Fist's Finn Jones could be part of that mix. We'd personally love to see a Werewolf by Night sequel, though we stressed this was our own wish rather than a reported plan.

We Don't Expect a Mutant Soft-Launch on Disney Plus

Despite some speculation that Marvel could quietly introduce side mutant characters via Disney Plus, we think that's exactly what Marvel is trying to avoid, since they want the X-Men to feel like a theatrical event rather than something diluted on streaming first.

A Wonder Man Season 2 Reversal Is Our Wildcard Pick

Borrowing an idea we saw floated on Reddit, we pitched the possibility that Disney could reverse its cancellation of Wonder Man season 2 as a meta callback to the show's own themes about Hollywood reinvention. We noted director Destin Daniel Cretton is coming off the number one movie of the year and has never had a flop, and pointed to Marvel's Nova project, once in development as a TV series before quietly becoming a film, as precedent for this kind of format switch.

Animation May Get More Focus as Marvel Pulls Back From Live Action

We observed that Marvel's Disney Plus output has been shrinking and shifting, citing Wonder Man's cancelled season 2 and the fact that, as far as we know, Daredevil Born Again season 3 is the only other live-action Marvel series currently in production. We think Marvel may be recalibrating toward animation instead, and predicted possible news or even a teaser clip for X-Men '97 season 3, along with updates on Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 2 and Marvel Zombies season 2, which ended its first season on a cliffhanger.

The Rest of the Slate: Gateau, Endgame's Re-Release, and Doomsday's Marketing Mystery

We expect confirmation and likely a trailer for Pixar's Gateau, out March 2027 with Mark Ruffalo and Laurence Fishburne voicing lead roles. On the non-Marvel side, we anticipate coverage of Hex (November), Ice Age: Boiling Point (February), Bluey the Movie (summer next year), and Frozen 3 (end of next year), plus likely mentions of 2028 projects including Incredibles 3, a live-action Lilo & Stitch sequel, and possibly Coco 2 and Frozen 4. We also expect Spider-Man: Brand New Day to get a victory-lap mention given its box office success, with an outside chance Tom Holland appears on stage, and we predicted Disney will confirm a Disney Plus streaming date for that film. Avengers: Endgame's theatrical re-release in Infinity Vision is coming up fast, with a rumor that tickets go on sale as soon as Friday, which makes a new trailer featuring footage tying into Doomsday likely. For Doomsday itself, we expect either a release of the Comic-Con trailer to the public or new footage in the room, and we're hoping for answers about the mysterious cloaked witch characters teased at Comic-Con, guessing names like Benedict Cumberbatch, Charlize Theron, or Elizabeth Olsen could be revealed under those masks.

Who do you think is under those Doomsday witch cloaks, and are you hoping for a full X-Men cast reveal at D23?