D23 Ultimate Fan Event has arrived, and this is the weekend Disney fans have been counting down to all year.Everything gets answered here. Months of speculation, rumor threads, prediction posts, and wish lists all collide inside about seventy-two hours of announcements. Some fans walk away vindicated. Others watch a favorite theory die on stage in real time. And every time, at least one reveal lands that nobody had written down.The film side of the event has already started. We got plot details for Frozen 3, which alone would carry a normal news cycle.But another announcement came out of the panel that deserves attention, and it involves a movie arriving much sooner than most of the slate.Disney’s Hexed hits theaters on November 25, 2026. That is roughly three months out, and until now, the cast list had been fairly thin. At D23, Disney filled in two significant names.Who Joined the Hexed CastJodie Foster and Walton Goggins are both in Hexed.Foster will play the witch queen, Queen Celeste.Credit: DisneyGoggins voices a green cat, which is exactly the kind of casting detail that generates conversation on its own. Better known as, Beef Roger Crummchuk.Credit: DisneyBoth are notable additions for an original animated film that has been building its profile carefully rather than all at once.The Full Hexed Cast So FarFor anyone tracking who is attached, here is where things stand.Hailee Steinfeld as Billie Doe, the teenage protagonistRashida Jones as Alice Doe, Billie’s cautious motherJodie Foster as the witch queen (Queen Celeste)Walton Goggins as a green cat (Beef Roger Crummchuk)Tracey Ullman as Ms. Quill, an enchanted feather quill penStephen Fry as Elias Quire, a magical journalSteinfeld and Jones were announced back in April at CinemaCon, where Disney also showed previously unseen footage, including a scene of Billie taking a personality test.The supporting characters are worth noting on their own. An enchanted quill pen and a magical journal are the kind of specific, slightly odd character concepts that suggest a distinct world rather than a generic magical setting.What Hexed Is AboutIf you have not been following this one closely, the premise is genuinely interesting.Hexed is an all-new original film following teenage Billie and her mother, who discover that Billie’s weirdness is actually hidden magical powers. That discovery transports them out of suburbia and into Hexe, a world where magic runs free.The setup works on two levels at once. On the surface, it is a story about a teenager discovering she is capable of something extraordinary, which is well-traveled ground in animation for good reason.The mother-daughter relationship underneath it is the less common part. A cautious, type-A mother paired with an unconventional daughter who turns out to be the more powerful of the two leaves room for real comedy, genuine emotional weight, and the kind of character growth that makes animated films land with adults as well as kids.The Creative TeamThis is where the film’s credibility comes from.Hexed is directed by Fawn Veerasunthorn of Wish, Jason Hand of Moana 2, and Josie Trinidad, writer and director of the series Zootopia+.Credit: DisneyTrinidad also co-directed Encanto, which became one of the most talked-about Disney animated films in recent memory for both its storytelling and its music.The film is produced by Roy Conli, whose credits include Tangled, Big Hero 6, Treasure Planet, Strange World, and Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.Credit: DisneyMore broadly, Hexed comes from the same teams behind Zootopia, Moana 2, and Encanto. That is a strong pedigree for a project that is not leaning on an existing property.Why the Original Angle MattersHexed is not a sequel. It is not a franchise extension. It is not built on decades of nostalgic goodwill.It is a completely new story in a new world, with new characters and a premise that has not yet been tested with audiences.That is a risk, and it is also why this one is worth watching. Disney has been releasing a heavy slate of sequels and franchise entries, and an original animated film succeeding would say something meaningful about where the studio goes next.The Hexed Release Date Is a StatementNovember 25, 2026, puts Hexed in the Thanksgiving weekend slot.That is one of the highest-traffic moviegoing periods of the entire year, and Disney has used it successfully before.Thanksgiving releases live or die on word of mouth, spreading fast across a holiday weekend when families are together and looking for something to do. Placing an original film there rather than a guaranteed franchise entry is a real vote of confidence from the studio.Why This Announcement LandsCasting news can feel like filler at events like this, but not here.Hexed was first announced at the Walt Disney Studios Showcase Panel during Destination D23 at Walt Disney World in August 2025. For a long stretch after that, details came slowly.With three months to go before release, filling out the cast gives audiences something concrete to attach to. Steinfeld and Jones gave the film credibility in April. Foster and Goggins expand it.That progression matters for an original property because there is no built-in audience waiting. Every announcement has to do work that a franchise title would not need.Credit: DisneyWhat Comes NextD23 is still running, so more news is coming across the weekend from both the parks and the studio side.Hexed opens in theaters on November 25, 2026. Expect a trailer and additional footage in the months ahead as Disney builds toward the Thanksgiving release.The post Disney Announces New Celebrities For ‘Hexed’ Casting at D23 2026 appeared first on Inside the Magic.