Originally published to 8 News Now on April 3, 2025.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The newest addition to director James Cameron’s Avatar franchise and an exclusive look at the latest from the Marvel Cinematic Universe headlined a look at Disney’s slate of 2025 releases at CinemaCon in Las Vegas Thursday.

The Walt Disney Studios presentation included previews of the company’s upcoming offerings, including its live-action adaptation of the animated classic “Lilo and Stitch,” the newest addition to the Tron franchise, “TRON: Ares” and Marvel’s first family in their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”

In addition to those features, the stars of the long-awaited sequel to 2003’s Freaky Friday, “Freakier Friday,” took the stage. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan discussed reexamining their characters from the origin, a process they called “amazing.”

“You’ll get to see me like never before thanks to a very aggressive teenage makeover,” Curtis said.

The stars of the forthcoming releases in Disney’s motion picture slate, including Jeff Bridges, Jared Leto, Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Zoe Saldana, and Ke Huy Quan, took the stage to introduce exclusive looks at their new films. The presentation provided glimpses into Disney properties like the upcoming Pixar animated film “Elio,” and a sequel to “Zootopia,” which is set for theaters around the holiday season.

The star of the upcoming “Predator: Badlands,” Elle Fanning, described the forthcoming installment as a story that reimagines the Predator as a “good guy,” and promised twists and turns.

“There are so many surprises in this film that I’ve been sworn to secrecy,” Fanning said.

The entire team from Marvel’s “THUNDERBOLTS*” stumbled onstage in a humorous moment where the actors in the film pantomimed partying a little too hard in Las Vegas. Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Hannah John-Kamen all chastised Wyatt Russell for losing tens of thousands at the Caesars Palace casino before an extended clip from the film was shown.

A two-minute new trailer for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” was displayed for the CinemaCon audience, featuring the first glimpse at a new-look Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) warning the planet Earth of a forthcoming attack from Galactus.

“Are you protectors of this world?” she asks Marvel’s first family.

“Yes, we are,” Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) replies.

“Your planet is now marked for death,” the Surfer warns.

The people of Earth, clearly shaken by the Surfer’s threat, ask Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) if they’re safe, to which he says he doesn’t know, before vowing, “We will protect you.”

The presentation concluded with an extended preview of “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” preceded by a recorded message from director James Cameron, who said he hoped that the newest installment of his hit franchise would boost traffic to cinemas.

“I hope this film can provide a shot in the arm for theater owners, as we’re still struggling after the one-two punch of the pandemic and streaming,” Cameron said.