Disney lifted the
lid on three live-action Star Wars series for its much-hyped new television
streaming service Friday, including Ewan McGregor's return as Obi-Wan Kenobi,
as the company revealed a vast lineup for its Netflix rival. Previously
unannounced series set in Marvel's wildly popular superhero universe and a
live-action "Lady and the Tramp" film were among the shows teased at
the biennial D23 fan convention in California, to whooping cheers from Disney
devotees dressed as their favorite characters.

But the loudest
ovation was saved for the Star Wars presentation, with the first official
trailer for Disney+ launch series "The Mandalorian" showing a dark,
lawless universe populated by murderous bounty hunters. Lucasfilm president
Kathleen Kennedy said the TV shows would be "identical" in quality to
the record-grossing Star Wars films, describing it as "exhilarating and
liberating" to tell stories that expand beyond two hours.

The online
streaming service Disney+ featuring film and television shows will launch
November 12 in the US as well as Canada and the Netherlands, before rolling out
worldwide. Chief Executive Bob Iger told investors on a recent earnings call
that "nothing is more important to us" than the platform, which will
compete in a crowded marketplace with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, HBO Max
and more.

As well as
offering Disney's enormous back catalog, including all animated films and Pixar
movies within its first year, it will feature a plethora of newly commissioned
shows. It will cost $6.99 a month in the US. Friday's sweeping presentation in
a packed 6,800-seater hall in Anaheim lasted nearly two hours, and set out
titles from across Disney-owned brands including Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, the
Disney Channel and National Geographic.

Dangerous world     

McGregor joined
Kennedy on stage to confirm rumors that he would return as the Jedi master who
was first portrayed by Alec Guinness in the 1977 original "Star
Wars." Few details were given for the series, except that it has been
written and will begin shooting next year. Introducing the first trailer for
the separate "Mandalorian" series, which will be available at launch,
showrunner Jon Favreau said the show would take place after "Return of the
Jedi" in a world where celebrations about the end of the evil Empire had
given way to chaos.

It will be set in
a "world where like the old samurai movies and the old Westerns, where the
gunfighters are rolling and people are fighting for their own safety," he
said. "It's a dangerous world." New footage showed battered
Stormtrooper helmets mounted on spikes and crumbling in the desert dust, with
cowering mothers and children fleeing from armed villains. Also announced was a
"spy series" inspired by critically acclaimed Star Wars film
"Rogue One," with Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk to reprise their roles in
a prequel storyline.

Marvel Studios
boss Kevin Feige revealed three previously unannounced shows which will overlap
with the most successful film franchise of all time-"Ms Marvel,"
"Moon Knight" and "She-Hulk." More details emerged for
further Marvel superhero shows "What If...?"-an animated series
imagining different outcomes for each of the 23 Marvel films to date-and
"WandaVision," which was intriguingly described as a "half
classic sitcom, half full [Marvel Cinematic Universe] spectacular"
inspired by Dick Van Dyke.

Also appearing on
a bumper lineup were an "unscripted" Muppets show, a grown-up
"Lizzie McGuire" reboot starring Hilary Duff, a series of shorts
featuring "Forky" from "Toy Story 4," and a mockumentary
based on "High School Musical."--AFP