Disney's Power Players Dominate the 2025 Upfront as Storytelling and Innovation Stand Front and Center

Marquee Talent and Creative Forces Across Disney's Powerhouse Portfolio Took the Stage, Including Sterling K. Brown, Glenn Close, Selena Gomez, Patrick Mahomes, Steve Martin, Timothy Olyphant, Sarah Paulson, Martin Short, Jeremy Allen White, and Many More!

May 13, 2025 - New York, NY - Disney opened its 2025 Upfront with a show-stopping moment as NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley took the stage to introduce Disney CEO Bob Iger, setting an electric tone for the presentation. What followed was a powerful showcase of Disney's unrivaled scale across sports, streaming, entertainment, and technology - brought to life by a star-studded parade of over 100 talent. With a clear message to the marketplace, Disney reinforced its leadership position and bold vision for the future - delivering the content, capabilities, and culture that continue to shape the industry.

Rita Ferro, President of Global Advertising, emphasized Disney's exceptional value for advertisers and agency partners - which now reaches 164 million global ad-supported monthly active users and delivers 200,000 hours of premium content and unmatched ad experiences.

With the upcoming launch of ESPN's direct-to-consumer offering, and recently rolled out Disney Experience Composer and Disney Compass, Ferro emphasized Disney's commitment to redefining what's possible in advertising - through scale, innovation and storytelling.

Key Highlights from the Stage:

Welcomed by Drum Major Mickey Mouse and the Brooklyn United Drumline, Super Bowl champions Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley kicked off the show with an introduction to The Walt Disney Company's Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger.

Peyton and Eli Manning proved their skills go far beyond the football field as they broke into a live musical performance featuring stars from TV's biggest hits including "High Potential" (Kaitlin Olson), "Paradise" (Sterling K. Brown), "Get Up" (Mike Greenberg) and "Abbott Elementary" (Sheryl Lee Ralph). Together, the group assisted the NFL greats in a formal pitch to executives for more projects across Disney brands, featuring none other than the Manning brothers.

America's favorite chefs, Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, from FX's critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning hit series "The Bear" revealed the anticipated fourth season will debut June 25 on Hulu, with all 10 episodes available beginning at 8pm ET, and on Disney+ internationally.

ESPN's powerhouse women's college basketball and WNBA analysts - Elle Duncan, Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike - announced the brand-new female-led sports show, "Vibe Check", which features an all-female roster highlighting the biggest stories in sports.

Representing "Moana," the most streamed film on Disney+, Auli'i Cravalho was joined onstage by Ginnifer Goodwin, from Disney's "Zootopia," who teased the upcoming theatrical release of "Zootopia 2."

As the exclusive home for all things Star Wars, "Andor"'s Diego Luna and "Ahsoka"'s Hayden Christensen surprised the room with a thrilling stage takeover featuring Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and the Mandalorian.

Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope and Ashton Kutcher unveiled a first look at FX's upcoming series "The Beauty," followed by a video from Kim Kardashian - executive producer and star of Hulu's "All's Fair" - who introduced co-stars Glenn Close, Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash-Betts and Teyana Taylor to reveal the drama's first teaser trailer.

Brought out by Goofy and the Brooklyn United Drumline, ESPN and SEC Network host and reporter, Laura Rutledge, and University of Texas Longhorns Head Football Coach, Steve Sarkisian celebrated the innovative streaming technology that helped deliver over 140 billion minutes of live game consumption during last year's college football season.

Glen Powell introduced the new face of college football - "Chad Powers" - and revealed that the upcoming Hulu comedy series is set to premiere on September 30 with two episodes at launch.

NFL legends and ESPN stars Jason Kelce, Joe Buck, and Troy Aikman welcomed back Saquon Barkley to talk about the upcoming Monday Night football season, the strength of the NFL on ESPN and Super Bowl LXI coming to ABC and ESPN in 2027. Later, Patrick Mahomes joined Jason to announce the title and debut a first look at "The Kingdom" - an upcoming six-episode ESPN Original Series documenting the storied history of the Kansas City Chiefs.

New York Knicks legends Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston and John Starks joined ESPN basketball analyst Monica McNutt onstage to reinforce Disney's role as the exclusive home of the NBA Finals, ten exclusive NBA Conference Finals through 2035, along with all five NBA games on Christmas Day.

She's back! Krysten Ritter, who greeted attendees alongside co-star and Daredevil himself, Charlie Cox, joins the second season of "Daredevil: Born Again" and reprises her role as Jessica Jones.

An unexpected, spine-tingling "Alien: Earth" invasion brought disruption, chaos and the infamous Xenomorph to the North Javits Center. Shortly after, Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant, and Babou Ceesay shared an early look at the highly anticipated series, premiering on August 12 with the first two episodes available to stream on Hulu and the FX linear channel, and on Disney+ internationally.

Jimmy Kimmel closed the show with a razor-sharp roast, proving once again: no one delivers unforgettable entertainment like Disney.

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