Here’s which movies, shows, creatives and brands got the most (and least) buzz out of San Diego Comic-Con this year.
Marvel. David Jonsson starring in Black Panther III as the son of King T’Challa? Great choice. Ryan Gosling joining the MCU as the new Ghost Rider? Great choice. Plus: The Avengers: Doomsday sizzle reel shown in the room was also an improvement upon the muddled and artificial-looking teaser trailer. Robert Downey Jr. assured EW the movie is “absolutely fantastic.” Page Six just reported he’s making $100 million for Doomsday and Secret Wars, so the man better say it’s fantastic.
Lanterns: After dealing with some silly controversy — because now there always is — HBO showed a new trailer for its upcoming Green Lantern drama that was way better than the what fans had previously seen. If that wasn’t enough of a show of confidence, HBO also screened a whopping seven clips and the consensus is that the footage was very strong. DC also had a terrific activation with its Lanterns Training Headquarters escape room, which didn’t skimp on the immersive detail, taking fans 30 minutes to complete. And on the comic book side, DC Comics artists and writers drew huge lines (so to speak) in the convention hall, and the publisher swept the Eisner Awards with eight wins and two shared wins, more than any other company. This is all as its Absolute imprint dominates sales, buzz, and accolades. Yet the lack of DC Studios film news (James Gunn was off shooting Man of Tomorrow while Clayface, which released a strong trailer last week, was tucked inside another panel) stood in contrast to Marvel’s usual “here’s what we’re doing for the next several years” drop.
Carrie: There have been many attempts to remake Brian De Palma’s 1976 supernatural teen hit, and it seems Stephen King’s current adaptor-in-chief Mike Flanagan might have finally cracked it. Flanagan, making his first appearance at the convention, debuted a terrific trailer that updates King’s first published novel into an eight-episode series for Prime Video. Flanagan said the series will reflect how bullying has evolved over the years and that the iconic prom scene will have twists you won’t see coming.
Johnny Depp: Much has been made of Depp returning from the cancellation depths to star in his first major studio film in years with Paramount’s upcoming Ebenezer (its poster tagline — “Before he was Scrooge, he was … EBENEZER” — inspired a Reddit thread dredging up the worst movie marketing taglines of all time). Depp made appearances in full costume as the Charles Dickens character, interacting with fans who shouted their love for the actor. A surprise “crashing” of a Directors on Directing panel to unveil the first trailer for the Ti West film went a bit pear-shaped, however, as Depp turned his planned very brief bit into something longer, weirder and more awkward (with Weapons director Zach Cregger looking uncomfortable). Still, it’s hard to see Depp’s appearance as anything less than cultural victory lap for an actor edging back into the spotlight.
Spaceballs: Amazon MGM Studios held a Hall H panel for Spaceballs: The New One, the highly anticipated sequel coming next April. The reclusive Rick Moranis, who reprises his role of Dark Helmet, received a standing ovation from the crowd. The production poked fun at the MCU with its own bonkers multi-phase Spaceballs mock-franchise announcement that’s gone viral on social media, and played heartwarming clips of director and co-star Mel Brooks reuniting with the cast. The panel builds on months of clever and funny social media breadcrumbs hyping the film. But there was one thing missing: Actual footage of the movie, like a teaser trailer, which the audience was surely expecting. At some point it starts to feel like the company is, well, hiding the Spaceballs.
Blade Runner 2099: Speaking of hiding the ball, Amazon MGM has been quiet about this project, and last week dropped a trailer and November premiere date. The trailer has garnered divided reactions online (“Temu Blade Runner” as one wag put it). But it’s pretty unfair to compare any TV project visually to two of the most stunning-looking films of all time (Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049) and part of the online griping is fueled by fanboy segment whining that a sci-fi project has two female co-leads (Hunter Schafer and Michelle Yeoh). Basically: The show might be great, but, fairly or no, has a bit of online headwind. Meanwhile, Amazon also dropped its The Rings of Power season three trailer, and the Harfoots-free footage looked potentially like the best season yet.
Star Trek: There’s no franchise with a longer and more beloved history at SDCC than Star Trek. So to not have anything Trek would have been disappointing for fans. But we’re in the middle of Paramount’s much-discussed Star Trek production drought, with nothing in the works on the TV side for the first time in many years. News from the panel was pretty much nonexistent, unless you count a new cadet joining Starfleet Academy before it’s canceled after season two, or a premiere date for a three-minute animated YouTube series. So for now, the franchise still feels trapped in spacedock.
San Diego Comic-Con: Festivals, conventions and fan events have had a rough time since the pandemic and despite the return of Marvel to Hall H, this year felt a bit deflated by yesteryear standards. EW didn’t have its traditional star-filled party (though the Fandom event with Billie Joe Armstrong performing was great). There seemed to be less news coming out of the sessions. The big panels themselves were jammed — too jammed, with hundreds reportedly unable to get inside Hall H amid unconfirmed rumors of counterfeit wristbands. And the convention’s annual Eisner Awards winners leaked after the list was posted several days early on the awards website.
Borys Kit and Ryan Gajewski contributed to this report.
