Marvel's D23 Expo Recap: Civil War, Doctor Strange, & More

Earlier today, Marvel Studios took over Hall 23 in Anaheim, California during Disney's D23 [...]

Earlier today, Marvel Studios took over Hall 23 in Anaheim, California during Disney's D23 Expo.

For those who don't know, D23 is the all-Disney equivalent to San Diego Comic Con. Disney, the company in charge of Marvel Studios, elected to pass on Comic Con last month in favor of their event. With Phase 2 of Marvel's Cinematic Universe now a wrap after Ant-Man, fans are eager for any bit of information they can get about the sure-to-be massive Phase 3.

Phase 3, which kicks off in May with Captain America: Civil War, features several new origin stories, a two-part Avengers movie, Spider-Man's introduction to the MCU, and even more excitement to look forward to. So, what did Disney and Marvel Studios have in store for us?

Kevin Feige took the stage during the first presentation of the day and thanked the fans for coming out.

Feige briefly recapped Marvel's presence at past D23 Expo's, saying "This is the fourth D23, and having seen the show floor, I think it's the best one yet. At the first one, we had just done Iron Man. At the second one, we showed the first clip to a movie we'd been working on a long time, called The Avengers. At the third D23 we brought clips from Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy."

Wasting little time, Feige wanted to talk about Phase 3. To kick things off, he looked forward to Doctor Strange, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel McAdams, releasing November 4, 2016. Cumberbatch sent a video message to the audience, saying "I'm very lucky and excited to be playing Doctor Strange for Marvel. He's an extraordinary character and brings in whole new multiple dimensions to the Marvel Universe. It will bring a mind-blowing experience."

Feige then showed off some "super secret" art from the project, which begins filming in November of this year. The video which played was narrated by Doctor Strange director, Scott Derrickson, who revealed some plot of the 2016 film. "He's the top neurosurgeon in the world, but has a car accident that mangles his hands. He goes on a quest looking for healing, looking to recover, and meets the Ancient One."

Stephen Strange's costume was revealed for the first time during the D23 Expo, and while it likely won't be officially released on line for some time, we can tell you it looks to have been ripped straight from a comic book page. The movie doesn't appear to be shying away from it's magical comic book roots in the least bit. Capping off the video was a quick, blick-and-you-miss-it shot of Doctor Strange in CGI shooting magical bolts from his hands, sending the crowd into a tizzy.

After Doctor Strange, focus turned to the first film of Marvel's Phase 3 - Captain America: Civil War. Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson/The Falcon took the stage only to introduce Captain America himself, Chris Evans. Evans introduction garnered a wild applause from the audience. "Oh man, I'm so happy to be here," Evans said. "It really is just kind of a love song to Disney. I'm a big, big, big Disney fan. My whole family grew up loving Disney, it's my idea of heaven. It's an amazing experience to be involved with them in any capacity."

Before long, Mackie and Evans were introducing the very first footage from Captain America: Civil War. "We cut this together with our computers," Mackie joked. "We learned iMovie on the plane," Evans added. With that, the footage rolled.

In the Captain America: Civil War footage, audiences witnessed Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther for the first time as he drew his claws. There was no Spider-Man, but the plot was laid out with impressive action sequences. Captain America, Falcon (in an upgraded suit), and Black Widow are in a fight with Crossbones, who tells Cap that his "buddy" Bucky remembered him.

The central plot, Iron Man and Captain America choosing sides, is laid out. "I know we're not perfect, but the safest hands are still ours," Cap says. "If we have no limitations, we're no better than the bad guys," Iron Man says. The battle also appears to have Black Widow and Hawkeye on opposite sides, much like 2012's The Avengers, but in that case, Hawkeye was under Loki's mind-control. By the look of it, Hawkeye is team Iron Man seeing as Black Widow was fighting alongside Captain America to start.

Ant-Man was also seen joining Captain America's team in comedic form by the end of the trailer. For a more complete description of the Captain America: Civil War footage, we have that for you right here.

The Cap 3 trailer wrapped up Marvel's presentation.

Follow ComicBook.com for complete D23 Expo coverage and for a complete list of upcoming comic book movies, check out our Comic Movie Database.

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