WIRE Buzz: Endgame, Aladdin tease footage at CinemaCon while Fox hints at future of Alien

Today’s WIRE Buzz is a bit of a novelty. Instead of tackling development news from all corners of the entertainment world, the odds and ends here are all taken from this year’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, which gave minor updates to all the biggest films coming down the pike. That means live-action (or, lifelike) Disney remakes like Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as offerings like Alien, Maleficent, and even Avengers: Endgame.

Let’s start with the two classics. Both Aladdin and The Lion King showed off new footage at CinemaCon, according to Variety. While Aladdin’s footage built off that already shown in the first trailer — with Will Smith’s genie giving a full rap-and-song rendition of “Friend Like Me” after Aladdin rubs the lamp — The Lion King offered up some brand-new material. Or, at least, as new as the meticulous remake can be.

The five-minute scene showed JD McCrary’s Simba listening to James Earl Jones’ returning Mufasa as the latter explains that, yes, son, all that the light touches will one day be his. It’s the same treatment as many of the other remade Disney classics, tackling iconic lines and imagery with updated tech (apparently the animals and grasslands look incredible), so fans can expect pure fidelity once director Jon Favreau’s movie starts racking up the dollars at the box office.

Lion King hits theaters July 19 while Aladdin is aiming for May 24.

According to The Playlist, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil also got a bit of a sizzle reel at the event, showing off the coming conflict between Angelina Jolie’s title character and Michelle Pfeiffer’s evil Queen Ingrith. The fantasy sequel's effects may not yet be complete, but just hearing the words “Michelle Pfeiffer with a longbow” is enough to send shivers down the spine.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil hits theaters on Oct. 18.

Next, more from those desperate Avengers. Endgame is quickly approaching, so fans are snapping (ha!) up everything they can about the final chapter in this saga of MCU's Phase 3. Deadline reports that CinemaCon had even more new footage to offer fans after a few trailers and TV spots already tantalized with their sadness and finality.

The footage unsurprisingly focused on Captain Marvel, as the hero has been nothing but a hit for Disney. Her small part in the trailer with Thor, teasing a coming friendship, already won fans over and now she’s got even more. As the scene gathers up the surviving supers, Carol Danvers takes the lead, starting to leave to get down to business and simply kill Thanos. Easy as can be, right?

While Captain Marvel is ready to take on the Big Bad alone, James Rhodes and Captain America — the military men of the Avengers — remind her that even in space, even in really weird space, the Avengers work best as a team. The other super-survivors — namely Black Widow, Hulk, Rocket Raccoon, and Nebula — are working on figuring out Thanos’ location, and the location of the Infinity Stones. If they have even the slightest idea of where to go, they "owe it to everyone not in this room to try,” as Black Widow puts it. So pile into the nearest spaceship and set it to warp speed — the Avengers are going Thanos hunting.

Avengers: Endgame finishes the fight on April 26.

Finally, Disney and Fox executives commented upon the merger of the two entertainment titans, which resulted in some fan-favorite franchises getting mentioned as ripe for new entries. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox's Emma Watts explained that yes, the X-Men will now fall under Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige’s purview after Dark Phoenix, but the rest of the Fox lineup is also looking to stay fresh.

"We intend to do our part, and it is in that spirit that we will continue to create new stories,” Watts said. She then mentioned Kingsman, Alien, Planet of the Apes, and Avatar as properties that will be seeing new life, in some form or another, under Disney. Yes, Alien. Get to speculating, fans.