"Why does Elsa have powers? Why was Anna born the way she was? Where were their parents really going when that ship went down? And is there really such a thing as happily ever after?”
These are the questions
Frozen 2 directors Jennifer Lee (now Chief Creative Officer of WDAS) and Chris Buck sought to answer in the upcoming sequel to Walt Disney Animation Studios' 2013 animated blockbuster. Trailers for the upcoming sequel have teased a bigger and more epic adventure, and D23 only furthered that hype as
Frozen 2's directors shared some intriguing new details and clips.
For starters, it was revealed that Evan Rachel Wood will be playing Anna and Elsa's mother, Queen Iduna. “
As you know, in these Disney films — I’ve been guilty of it — we tend to kill off the parents, but we’re bringing them back,” Buck joked, to which Lee clarified,
“For a scene!” Queen Iduna will be seen briefly in a flashback singing a lullaby to her young children about a distant, mystical river full of memory.
Also spotlighted at D23 was Sterling K. Brown, who will play Lieutenant Mattias, the leader of a group of Arendelle soldiers who have been trapped in an enchanted forest for 30 years.
The enchanted forest, which is seemingly where much of
Frozen 2 will take place, was described by Lee as
“a place of transformation where change comes for you whether you like it or not. Relationships are tested, everything you thought you knew proves to be wrong, powers that were once too strong for the world are suddenly not enough, and it’s easy to get lost.”
“We can’t tell you whether they solve the mystery of the past or whether Elsa ever finds the answers about her powers, but we can tell you that Frozen 2 is even bigger and more epic, but most importantly, in the end Frozen 1 and Frozen 2 work together to form one complete story," Buck added.
Despite the seemingly more mature tone of
Frozen 2, guests were reminded that music will still be a core component of the film as multiple songs were teased — one of hwich was a live performance featuring Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Groff.
Frozen 2 arrives in theaters on November, 22, 2019.