Disney unleashes frenzy at its Upfront 2026: Anne Hathaway introduces the new CEO, Marvel announces dates and surprise performance by Olivia Rodrigo

Disney turned the Javits Center of New York into a true spectacle of fandom, stars, and surprise announcements during its Upfront 2026. The company showcased television, film, and sports muscle in a gigantic event that gathered more than 200 well-known faces and left constant headlines about the future of its most powerful franchises.

One of the most commented moments came with the appearance of Anne Hathaway, in charge of presenting for the first time the new CEO of Disney, Josh D’Amaro, at an event that also featured names such as Robert Downey Jr., Olivia Colman, Lindsay Lohan, Shaquille O’Neal or Olivia Rodrigo, who closed the presentation with a surprise performance.

Marvel and Star Wars were two of the main focuses of the event. Downey Jr., Tom Hiddleston, and Paul Bettany took the stage to preview news from the UCM and confirm that VisionQuest will arrive on Disney+ on October 14, 2026. Additionally, Rosario Dawson announced that the second season of Ahsoka will premiere in early 2027 and that filming has already finished.

For her part, Sigourney Weaver confirmed that Avatar: Fire and Ash will land on Disney+ next June 24, 2026. There was also space for nostalgic television with the anticipated return of Scrubs, presented by Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke.

Also went up to the stage part of the cast of American Horror Story, and showed a small preview of the new season. 

Music and sport also had an enormous weight in the presentation. Disney boasted about its future live events, including the Super Bowl LXI, the Grammy and the Oscar of 2027. In addition, it was confirmed that Conan O’Brien will repeat as host of the Oscar Awards in its number 99 edition.

The closing was reserved for Olivia Rodrigo, who symbolically returned to the company where she began her artistic career when she was barely 13 years old. The singer put the final touch to a night designed to demonstrate that Disney wants to continue dominating the global conversation between cinema, television, streaming, music, and sport.