Disney and “Fortnite» developer Epic Games unveiled details of a broad plan to integrate Disney brands and characters into Epic's flagship gaming franchise during a company presentation Saturday at D23 Fan meeting in Anaheim, California.
During the Disney Experiences Showcase, Josh D'Amaro, head of Disney Parks and Products, along with 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 Disney and Epic Games to collaborate on new games and entertainment universes tied to the wildly popular Fornite gaming franchise.
“At Disney Experiences, Imagineers dream, create, design, and bring these stories to life in real places. And right now, Imagineers are working all over the world because everything we’re going to share with you is in active development,” D’Amaro told the crowd. “The plans are drawn. The earth is moving. I just want to be clear: We’re doing everything you’re going to hear about tonight.”
First up, on August 16, fan-favorite Marvel characters Doctor Doom And Fantastic Four will be featured in the storyline of Fornite's Battle Royale Chapter 5, Season 4: Absolute Doom. The significance is that fans will be able to get hints and clues about the storylines of future Marvel films featuring these characters. This ties the game into Marvel's narrative more deeply than before – a move that will be meaningful to the most dedicated Marvel fans.
Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, explained to fans that Chapter 5 marks the end of the Battle Royale franchise, and he showed the world premiere of a cinematic and gameplay trailer that reveals the origins of the upcoming new season in the Marvel Universe. The new season will allow players around the world to continue the Fortnite and Marvel story with new gameplay and locations to explore.
The gaming portion of Saturday’s D23 presentation was available to stream in Epic’s “Fortnite,” marking a first for Disney, which hasn’t previously streamed a ticketed event for fans. But the event at D23 Expo, a three-day Disney fan convention that kicked off Friday in Anaheim, California, was a natural fit and a way for Disney to showcase the capabilities of its partnership with a company whose proprietary tech platform, Fornite’s Unreal Editor, is at the forefront of creating immersive livestream experiences. Disney described the livestream as “an interactive social viewing party [that] allowed players to interact with the demo through cheers, mini-games and impressive visuals.” It will be available to view until August 16.
The Epic/Disney announcements at D23 were the first major revelations about the partnership since Disney CEO Bob Iger announced in February that Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games, which Iger called the company's “biggest foray into the gaming space.”
Lee, chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios, announced that three beloved Disney villains will be the first full-fledged Disney characters to appear in the world of “Fortnite”: Maleficent, Cruella De Vil, and Captain Hook will be the first Disney Animation characters to join Fortnite this fall.
The Incredibles will be the first Pixar canon 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 be making Star Wars characters IG-11 and Moff Gideon available, as well as items for sale, including an “all-new dynamic Back Bling Grogu.” Filoni noted that Unreal technology has been used to help bring the universe of Lucasfilm’s Disney+ hit The Mandalorian and other shows to life. Filoni and The Mandalorian director Jon Favreau are exploring ways to use the power of Fortnite to let fans step into the show by letting them walk through The Mandalorian sets brought to life by Unreal.
At the time, both companies hinted at a Disney universe interoperating within Fortnite that would “offer consumers a variety of ways to play, watch, shop, and interact with content, characters, and stories from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, and more.”
Iger said that upon his return as Disney CEO in November 2022, he met with Disney Experience chief D'Amaro and Game Director Sean Shoptow to talk about Disney’s gaming business, and “the first thing they showed me was demographic trends.” “And when I looked at Gen Z and Gen Alpha and even millennials, I saw how much time they were spending in terms of total media screen time on video games, it was mind-boggling to me, equal to how much they were spending on TV and movies,” Iger said. “And I came to the conclusion that we had to be there, and we had to be there soon, in a very compelling way.”
The three-day D23 event kicked off Friday with news on movies, TV shows, and live events from the Mouse House. The event will wrap up Sunday with the presentation of the Disney Legends Awards to recipients including Miley Cyrus, Harrison Ford, Angela Bassett, and Jamie Lee Curtis.