Captain America’s Anthony Mackie, K-drama stars in Singapore for Disney showcase
CNA Lifestyle attended the Disney Content Showcase APAC 2024 which is taking place at Sands Expo & Convention Centre on Nov 20 and 21. Here's what went down.
From the new Captain America to everyone’s favourite Attorney Woo, a slew of international celebrities descended upon Singapore on Wednesday (Nov 20) for the Disney Content Showcase APAC 2024.
Amid shrieking fans at Marina Bay Sands, Anthony Mackie, Park Eun-bin, Kim Soo-hyun, Ryu Seung-ryong and others attended Disney Presents: A Night Of Stars at Marquee Singapore.
“That’s the biggest mic I’ve seen” quipped Mackie at the blue carpet, as he gamely held our improvised Captain America shield pillow – a preview of sorts to him taking over the Marvel superhero’s mantle in next year’s Captain America: Brave New World.
Meanwhile, other K-drama stars also briefly spoke about their upcoming Disney+ shows. Ryu – who was recently in his own “superhero” show Moving – told CNA Lifestyle that his next one, Low Life, was “a fun project with a wonderful original story, an excellent director, amazing actors, and a fantastic crew, all in beautiful Korea”.
Itaewon Class’ Kim Da-mi and A Killer Paradox’s Son Suk-ku also talked about their own show, Nine Puzzles, which “has a variety of genres – drama, action, and thriller – in one production”.
“There’s also the fun of guessing who the culprit is until the very end. Once you start watching our drama, which is planned to run for 11 episodes, you will be entertained all the way through,” added Son.
Other stars present were Extraordinary Attorney Woo’s Park Eun-bin and Queen Of Tears’ Kim Soo-hyun, who were promoting their shows Hyper Knife and Knock-Off, respectively.
The free fan event capped the first day of the Disney Content Showcase APAC 2024, which ends today. Held at Sands Expo & Convention Centre, the two-day event offered a sneak peek at some of the upcoming shows from the likes of Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel Studios.
Here's a look at what went down on the first day:
MARVEL STUDIOS' CAPTAIN AMERICA AND MORE
We caught a glimpse of future projects such as the third season of What If?, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Daredevil: Born Again, Ironheart, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Thunderbolts*, and Captain America: Brave New World.
Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige made a surprise virtual appearance, video-calling live from Los Angeles. During his call, Feige spoke about Deadpool and Wolverine – now officially the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time – and revealed that he had goosebumps after seeing Hugh Jackman don Wolverine’s trademark yellow suit on set.
When asked which upcoming Marvel project he was looking forward to the most, Feige pointed to the Fantastic Four cap he was wearing – drawing applause from the audience. He also hinted that the real meaning of the asterisk in Thunderbolts* will be revealed when viewers watch the movie.
Capping off the Marvel presentation was the new Captain America himself: Anthony Mackie. Mackie brought his trademark wit and charm to the event, revealing where he first found out that he would take over the role of Captain America: Chris Evans’ house.
“We were all sitting there watching football. Chris asked me if I read the new script [of Avengers: Endgame]. I said ‘Of course not’. He grabs me and brings me to the basement, and he gave me the last two pages of Endgame,” said Mackie.
“When I read it, we just hugged each other and jumped around in a circle.”
With Robert Downey Jr returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom, Mackie also revealed that, if given the opportunity, he would want to play a “badass Incredible Hulk”.
WALT DISNEY PICTURES' MUFASA: THE LION KING, LILO & STITCH
Barry Jenkins, director of the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King, greeted attendees via a video message and gave an Asia Pacific-first preview of an original song titled I Always Wanted A Brother, composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Actress Rachel Zegler – the star of the upcoming live-action Snow White movie – sent a special message and a first look at the 2025 film’s interpretation of the iconic Whistle While You Work sequence from the original animated movie.
The event was briefly interrupted by Experiment 626 himself – Stitch – as he made his way through the crowd, promoting his new look and the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie which will be out on May 23, 2025.
Actor-musician Jared Leto – star of the upcoming Tron: Ares – sent a video message to attendees and gave an exclusive preview of the film which included a first look at his character as well as those played by Evan Peters and Greta Lee.
20TH CENTURY STUDIOS' AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
The iconic studio, which celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2025, previewed two upcoming films: The Amateur, an espionage thriller adapted from the 1981 novel of the same name, and Avatar: Fire And Ash – the third instalment of James Cameron’s record-breaking sci-fi saga.
Attendees were treated to a special preview of The Amateur, courtesy of its main star, Academy Award winner Rami Malek, as well as concept pictures from Avatar: Fire And Ash which showed new tribes in the Avatar universe.
SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES' BOB DYLAN FILM
Guests then got a sneak peek at the comedy-drama A Real Pain, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, as well as the Bob Dylan biographical film, A Complete Unknown, with Timothee Chalamet starring as the acclaimed singer.
WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS' MOANA AND ZOOTOPIA SEQUELS
Moana and Zootopia will be getting sequels in 2024 and 2025 respectively, and guests at the Disney Content Showcase APAC 2024 got a peek at both movies.
Zootopia 2’s showcase even had a first look at a new character voiced by Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan.
PIXAR'S DREAM PRODUCTIONS AND MORE
Pixar did not hold back and showed content from upcoming films such as Elio, Hoppers, Toy Story 5, and Incredibles 3.
The studio also gave a first look at two upcoming Disney+ series: Dream Productions, set between the events of Inside Out and Inside Out 2, and Win Or Lose – which follows the adventures of a middle school softball team.
LUCASFILM'S THE MANDALORIAN & GROGU
In 2026, Din Djarin and Grogu will be taking their adventures to the big screen in The Mandalorian & Grogu. The movie’s writers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni sent a video message from the set, promising an epic adventure.
English actor Jude Law then introduced Star Wars: Skeleton Crew – an eight-episode series centred on four children who get lost in space.
Disney Content Showcase APAC 2024 also saw the exclusive announcement of the third season of Star Wars: Visions, featuring nine shorts from eight different anime studios.
K-DRAMA MYSTERY SERIES LIGHT SHOP
Guests at the Disney Content Showcase APAC 2024 also watched exclusive footage from the upcoming South Korean mystery series Light Shop which will premiere on Disney+ on Dec 4 this year.
After the screening, the show’s stars, Ju Ji-hoon and Park Bo-young, as well as its director, Kim Hee-won, and writer Kangfull stepped onstage to answer questions from the attendees.
Kangfull, who also wrote the original webtoon that inspired Light Shop, said that he added things to the show that weren't in the original comic to differentiate them.
“The series has much more depth. There are things that I couldn't do with my webtoon that I could visualise with the show,” he said.