Disney and “Fortnite” developer Epic Games revealed details of a comprehensive plan to integrate Disney brands and characters into Epic’s innovative gaming franchise during the company’s presentation Saturday at the D23 fan meeting in Anaheim, California.
During the Disney Experiences Showcase presentation, Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s head of parks and products, and the heads of Marvel (Kevin Feige), Pixar (Peter Docter), Lucasfilm (Dave Filoni) and Walt Disney Animation Studios (Jennifer Lee) revealed some of the early plans for collaboration between Disney and Epic Games to create new games and entertainment universes around the hugely popular “Fornite” game franchise.
“At Disney Experiences, Imagineers dream, create, design and build these stories into real-world places. And we have Imagineers all over the world right now, because everything we’re about to share with you is in active development,” D’Amaro told the crowd. “Plans are drawn. The earth is moving. I just want to be clear: We’re doing everything you’re going to hear tonight.”
For one, fan-favorite Marvel characters Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four will appear in the storyline of Fortnite Battle Royale’s Chapter 5, Season 4: Absolute Doom on August 16. This means fans can get hints and hints about the storylines of upcoming Marvel movies featuring these characters, connecting the game more deeply to the Marvel storytelling than before – a move that’s meaningful for Marvel’s most loyal fans.
Feige, president of Marvel Studios, explained to fans that Chapter 5 marks the conclusion of Battle Royale and unveiled the world premiere of a cinematic and gameplay trailer that revealed the origins of a new upcoming Marvel-themed season. The new season will allow players from all over the world to continue the Fortnite and Marvel story with new gameplay and new locations to explore.
The gaming portion of Saturday’s D23 presentation was available as a stream within Epic’s “Fortnite,” a first for Disney, as the company has not previously live-streamed the ticketed fan event. But the event at the D23 Expo, the three-day Disney fan gathering that kicked off Friday in Anaheim, California, was a natural fit and a way for Disney to showcase the capabilities of its partnership with the company, whose proprietary Unreal Editor for Fornite technology platform is a leader in creating immersive live-stream events. Disney described the live stream as “an interactive social watch party (that) allowed players to interact with the presentation through cheers, mini-games and spectacular visual effects.” It will remain available to watch through Aug. 16.
The Epic/Disney announcements at D23 are the first major revelations about the partnership since Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in February that Disney had invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games, which Iger called the company’s “biggest foray into gaming ever.”
Lee, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, announced that three popular Disney villains will be the first full-fledged Disney characters to enter the world of Fortnite: Maleficent, Cruella de Vil and Captain Hook will be the first Disney animation characters to join Fortnite this fall.
From the Pixar canon, the Incredibles will be the first to debut in “Fortnite” later this year, Docter, Pixar’s chief creative officer, told fans. He also said Pixar animators plan to experiment with original ideas in new formats.
Starting next week, Lucasfilm will offer Star Wars figures IG-11 and Moff Gideon for sale, as well as items including “brand new dynamic Grogu back bling.” Filoni noted that Unreal technology has been used to visualize the universe of Lucasfilm’s Disney+ hit “The Mandalorian” and other series. Filoni and “Mandalorian” boss Jon Favreau are considering how to use the power of “Fortnite” to give fans a way to immerse themselves in the show by letting them walk through “Mandalorian” sets brought to life by Unreal.
At the time, the two companies announced a Disney universe compatible with “Fortnite” that “will provide consumers with numerous ways to play, watch, shop and interact with content, characters and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, ‘Star Wars’, ‘Avatar’ and more.”
Iger said that when he returned as Disney CEO in November 2022, he met with Disney experience chief D’Amaro and gaming chief Sean Shoptaw to talk about Disney’s gaming business, and “the first thing they showed me was demographic trends.” “And when I looked at Generation Z and Generation Alpha and even Millennials, I saw how much time they were spending on video games in terms of their total media screen time. That was astounding to me, as much as they spend on TV and movies,” Iger said. “And I came to the conclusion that we need to be there, and we need to be there as quickly as possible, and in a very compelling way.”
The three-day D23 event kicked off on Friday with a ton of news about movies, TV shows and live events from the Mouse House. The event will conclude on Sunday with the presentation of the Disney Legends Awards to honorees including Miley Cyrus, Harrison Ford, Angela Bassett and Jamie Lee Curtis.
