San Diego Comic-Con 2013 may go down in the record books as one of the most exciting and batshit crazy cons of all-time. It could very well be the zenith of geek culture as we know it. I can’t recall an SDCC that had so many jaw-dropping announcements, exclusive footage, cast appearances, and overall geekgasm-inducing awesomeness in one weekend. It would be impossible to document all of the insanity in one entry, so I did the best job I could plucking out the very best images, links, footage, and information from the major films/TV shows that made their presence felt at SDCC in this single, handy recap. Enjoy nerds…it may never be this good again.
SUPERMAN/BATMAN: THE MOVIE
Of course, this had to be the lead-off. DC/Warner Brothers came out of nowhere to steal the convention during their media panel with the Earth-shattering announcement that Man of Steel 2 would actually be Batman/Superman team up film! Zack Snyder was there to present the information himself, saying that he pored through DC comics material for the right way to tell the story. He didn’t reveal the plot of the film, but he did confirm Henry Cavill would reprise his Superman role, and—in an attempt to provide a storyline clue— brought actor Henry Lennix (the main general from Man of Steel) to read a passage from Frank Miller’s masterwork, The Dark Knight Returns:
I want you to remember, Clark. In all the years to come. In all your most private moments. I want you to remember my hand at your throat. I want you to remember the one man who beat you.
Ooooh…goosebumps up the arms. So, it looks as if Superman and Batman are going to be enemies in the film, at least for some of the running time. Related stories in The LA Times and the Hollywood Reporter also claimed Warners had greenlit a Flash film for 2016, followed up by DC’s answer to the Avengers, The Justice League, in 2017.
Source: Comic Book Movie
Avengers 2
At the Marvel panel, Joss Whedon made a surprise appearance and revealed the villain of Avengers 2, as well as a new subtitle for the film, all in one masterstroke: Avengers: Age of Ultron. Yep, the evil chrome Artificial Intelligence with an Oedipal complex will menace the team this time around, and not the purple alien Thanos, who was memorably teased at the end of the first Avengers. I’m calling it now: Avengers: The Infinity Gauntlet in 2018. Joss also later confirmed that Ultron’s creator in the comics, Hank Pym, will not be introduced, instead passing the responsibility of Ultron’s creation to Tony Stark/Iron Man.
Here’s is video of the Marvel panel in its entirety:
Source: io9
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Director James Gunn and the entire cast showed up to promote Marvel’s foray into Star Wars territory, the cosmic superteam flick Guardians of the Galaxy. No footage was shown, but there were lots of props from the film on display, including Star Lord’s (Chris Pratt) helmet, and some Nova Corps uniforms! Whovians worldwide also screamed out in horror as beloved Doctor WHO companion Karen “The Ponds” Gillan tossed a red wig off her head to reveal a completely shorn scalp; a tragic casualty of her role as the villain Nebula in the film. Here’s some photos:
THOR: THE DARK WORLD
The highlight of this segment of the Marvel panel was Tom Hiddleston showing up in full Loki garb to introduce footage from the sequel. He chastised the crowd saying, “You should have let me rule you while you had the chance,” which drew deafening screams from the throngs of Loki-lovers in Hall H. Here’s a description of the footage shown. SPOILERS.
The footage begins in the middle of a battlefield. The Warriors Three are among those fighting. The rainbow bridge appears and Mjolnir comes through first. It hits one of the opponent soldiers and Thor is right behind it. He slams it against the Earth and soldiers go flying. Sif saves Thor from a spear at the last second. Over the hill a giant monster who looks like he’s made of clay approaches. He’s huge and angry. Nearly 20 feet. “I accept your surrender,” Thor grins. The beast refuses and Thor smashes him to pieces with the hammer. “Anyone else?” Thor asks. The Marvel logo comes up and we’re in London. Jane Foster is there and Thor arrives via the bridge. “I gave you my word I would return for you,” he says. We see Jane in Asgard, exploring the wonder of it all. There’s a brief, “Holy s–t” line from Kat Dennings as Thor and Jane vanish via the bridge. There’s a brief, “Holy s–t” line from Kat Dennings as Thor and Jane vanish via the bridge.
Thor goes to Loki. He’s get in a prison cell with a big glass panel in front. “After all this time, you come before me, brother?” says Loki, “Why? To mock?” Thor says he needs Loki’s help. We see a hand reach for a broken mask, I believe it’s Malekith. “Your bravery will not relieve your pain,” a voice (I think Eccleston) says. “Your family and your world will be extinguished.” Loki sets off with Thor, Jane, Sif and the Warriors Three for a mission. Jane looks at a monitor and says something about the fabric of reality being torn apart. Sif tells Loki that if he betrays Thor, she’ll kill him. Jane marches right up and slaps Loki in the face. “That was for New York!” she says. “I like her,” Loki grins. There’s a final shot of Thor on the ground, hurt, with Loki standing over him. He kicks Thor directly in the face. Thor reaches for his hammer, but Loki kicks his hand away.
Source: Comic Book Movie
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
Just about everyone from this cast was in attendance as well, including directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who claimed this sequel contains the most crucial tie-in to Avengers: Age of Ultron. Here’s a description of the Cap sizzle reel:
The first portion of the reel features Cap getting into an elevator at what appears to be S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. He’s in his full S.H.I.E.L.D. style uniform, and as other agents board the elevator at different floors, Cap notices one guy sweating, another’s hand sort of hanging near his holster, and so on. Something is wrong, and after the lift is full of agents (including Frank Grillo’s Crossbones), he says, “Before we do this, does anyone want to get out?” Then a full-on fight breaks out, with Cap greatly outnumbered and seemingly beaten from the moment it starts — headlocked, pinned, and getting hit with electrically charged stun sticks. One of his hands is pinned to the wall by a magnetic handcuff, but Cap still fights off his attackers with his remaining available hand. It’s all quickly cut and edgy type stuff, less superhero-ish than Bourne.
From there we see a series of vignettes, including Cap meeting with Robert Redford’s mysterious S.H.I.E.L.D. higher-up, who tells the hero that the black and white morality of the World War II era is long gone. Nick Fury similarly seems to be warning Cap to watch out for himself. Anthony Mackie’s Falcon appears, flying and shooting as he soars, and Black Widow is also pulling some Black Widow action, dropping down a long chamber on wires and blasting away at bad guys as she goes. A helicarrier crashes into the water, crumbling on impact, and the reel closes with a shot of Cap’s shield stuck in the ground. A metallic hand reaches for it, picks it up, and the camera tilts up to reveal… Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier.
Also, here’s a look at Cap’s new outfit from the Marvel Studios floor display:
Source: IGN, Comic Book Movie
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
Director Bryan Singer brought the entire—and I mean THE ENTIRE—cast of this massive time-travel superhero movie along with him to Hall H for this spectacular presentation of news and footage. Here’s a description of what was screened, via /Film:
The footage opens on an eye. Professor X’s eye to be exact.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asks in voiceover. (All quotes below are voiceover unless noted.)
A montage of several original characters: Shawn Ashmore as Ice Man, Ellen Page as Kitty Pride, Halle Berry as Storm. etc.
“I had a little glimpse into the past.”
Wolverine, dressed in a black outfit fitted with buckles, walks with older Professor X (Stewart) and older Magneto (McKellen), in similar attire. They appear to be in some kind of temple, with very rich colors.
“You’re going to have to do for me what I once did for you,” Xavier’s voice says. “You need me as well,” Magneto adds. “Side by side to end this war before it ever begins.”
The trio approaches what appears to be some kind of ritual table, followed by a montage of new characters including Omar Sy as Bishop. They appear to also be in this present/future time with the original characters, in similar black outfits.
“So I wake up in my younger body and then what?” Logan says. “Find me. Convince me of all of this,” Xavier explains.
We finally see the younger Xavier (McAvoy) sitting down with an ‘X’ of light on his head. He and his companions are all in ’70s clothes.
“It’s going to take the two of us,” Magneto says.
Now we see young Magneto (Fassbender) floating, doing some other possibly sinister stuff.
“Then where do I find you?” Logan asks. “On different paths,” old Magneto says. “Darker paths.”
We see some more shots from the ’70s, most of the new First Class characters living their own lives.
“Logan, lead me. Guide me. Be patient with me,” the older professor pleads. “Patience isn’t my strong suit,” responds Logan.
We see Logan with two lights on the side of his head and he screams. Hard cut.
The footage goes into a montage of many things. Some examples include a secret compartment under the Oval Office. More new characters. Trask (Peter Dinklage) presiding over a meeting. Lots of action scenes including Wolverine riddled with bullet holes, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) crying, Mystique changing form and walking in a military uniform, Young Magneto floating, getting choked by Beast (Nicolas Hoult) and young Xavier blowing the dust off Cerebro.
Finally we see young Xavier touching Logan’s face and we hear his voice in voiceover, from a different scene.
“I don’t want your suffering,” Xavier screams. “I don’t want your future!”
The final shot is young Xavier encountering old Xavier, looking each other dead in the eye, and old Xavier says the following as voice over:
“Please. We need you to hope again”
Then the title card: “Days of Future Past.”
Source: /Film
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
Star Andrew Garfield showed up in his Spidey suit, and cracked wise with Jamie Foxx on stage before giving way to an impressive sizzle reel of footage for the sequel to the 2012 Spider-man franchise reboot. Here’s a description from Cinema Blend:
The action is much bigger. The clip started with a massive police car chase with Spidey leapfrogging from car roof to car roof in pursuit of Paul Giamatti’s Russian gangster character. At one point, Spider-Man grabs the truck’s steering wheel and says, “Let me help you with that!”
- There’s plenty of humor in the footage. Spider-Man, according to Webb, is very confident in his Spidey suit, and that shows. He’s cracking wise all throughout the clip, and it’s awesome.
- Electro is the main villain. We get a lot of footage of Jamie Foxx with his comb-over and his lack of confidence. At one point, during the car chase, Spidey rescues Max Dillon, who will become Electro – and he pays attention to him. That’s key. He tells Max, “You are somebody. You are my eyes and ears out here.” And he makes Max a fan. Temporarily.
- There a montage of action footage. We see a LOT of Spider-Man fight sequences. There are a few things that stood out in the montage. Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) standing in front of a bridge, with the outline of the structure perfectly framed– clearly asking us to think of the “Death of Gwen Stacy” comics arc. A quick shot of green vials … maybe Goblin serum? And a quick shot of Norman Osborn (Chris Cooper), in bed – sick – and speaking with Harry (Dane DeHaan).
- The clip ends with Electro in Times Square, hovering over the crowd while pulling power from the billboards and shooting lightning bolts toward the ground. At one point, he blasts a cop car into the air. It careens toward a crowd, but Spider-Man leaps on the car in mid-air and catches it before it it’s the ground. “Need a hand?” he asks a nearby police officer.
Source: Cinema Blend, /Film
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D
Star Clark Gregg and director/writer/producer/lord of the nerds, Joss Whedon showed the pilot episode of this new Marvel Studios TV series in its entirety. Here’s a video clip of Whedon after the panel, and check out a description/review of the episode here.
Source: IGN
THE WALKING DEAD
Here’s a season four trailer:
THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE
Here’s a new trailer for this much-anticipated sequel:
GODZILLA
Director Gareth Edwards showed up at this presentation for Legendary Pictures, and he promised, among other things, that Godzilla would indeed battle other giant monsters in this reboot. Here’s a link to a full description of the panel, and check out a poster for the film below:
Source: Collider