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The time is upon us once more, pop culture fans – Comic-Con 2016 is here. The comic convention to end all comic conventions, San Diego Comic-Con marks the highest confluence of television, film, comic book, and nerd/geek culture in the calendar year. Sure, there are other comic cons, wizard cons, BlizzCons, etc, but San Diego Comic-Con is the coup-de-gras for pop culture fans and corporations alike – the popularity of the convention itself is at an all time high, thanks to the convention’s knack for dropping huge news about the next few years’ biggest blockbusters, and bringing in some of the world’s biggest stars.
Comic-Con has become a right of passage in a culture subverted by super heroines and men in tights, and 2016’s convention looks to be one of the most memorable to date, as films like Doctor Strange, Rogue One, Power Rangers, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Justice League are all likely to bring footage along with them to the conventions. While giant films bring the prestige celebrities like Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pratt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Felicity Jones, Ben Affleck, and Henry Cavill, Comic Con still has a considerable draw with non-film entities, like CBS’ Star Trek reboot, AMC’s The Walking Dead, and HBO’s Game of Thrones, along with the presence of late night stars like Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel. All of a sudden, it seems as though the convention is going to be more difficult to navigate than originally anticipated.
So if you’re pressed for time and don’t know which panels to hit up and which to skip, consider these eight Comic-Con must- sees as your primary objectives in San Diego this year.
Nickelodeon’s Double Dare Live Anniversary Show
In case you weren’t aware, one of Nickelodeon’s most beloved cult followings was for the Marc Summers-helmed trivia show Double Dare. October 2016 will mark the 30-year anniversary of the program, but Comic-Con is hosting a special live anniversary revival at the convention, July 22nd. It’ll be nice to see Summers return to the series that made him famous, as he spends most of his time toiling away on the Food Network. Nickelodeon’s nostalgia branch, The Splat will have a Facebook Live simulcast of the anniversary show as well, in case you can’t make it to the convention.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Comic-Con has always been kind to any Marvel property that rolls through Hall-H, but it’s been especially kind to James Gunn, Chris Pratt and the rest of the GoTG crew. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 finished its shooting earlier this summer, so its not out of the question to say that we’re probably going to see a little bit of Star Lord, Rocket Racoon, and Groot at Comic-Con. Outside of whatever teaser Gunn and co. bring to Hall-H this year, don’t expect a whole lot more footage, though. Seeing as Marvel/Disney’s next two giant priority releases are Doctor Strange and Rogue One, odds are we’re going to be have to make do with this teaser for the time being.
Interactive South Park Experience
With virtual reality and the desperate attempts from tech companies to try and bring that trend to the forefront of consumer technology, words like “experience” are being overblown in expedient fashion, but when you attach the words “South Park” along with the tech buzzword, you have yourself a truly intriguing scenario. The experience itself will run for four days throughout the convention, with various points fans can insert themselves into “20 iconic and fan favorite scenes.”
Rogue One
Between Disney’s next two massive blockbuster releases – Doctor Strange and Rogue One – Rogue One stands to hold a little more intrigue than the Marvel title. Rogue One was famously touted as being the Saving Private Ryan of the Star Wars universe, starring a progressive cast, and being darker in overall tone than any other Star Wars film. Then the news of reshoots and tonal overhaul from executives and higher-ups reached the masses and people began to second guess the effectiveness and willingness of Disney to truly make a Star Wars film that Millennials and the older generations that grew up with the series and make Rogue One their own. It’s the first of the supposed “stand alone” Star Wars films (though we all know that if the film does well enough, we’re probably going to see some sort of follow-up) so there’s a lot riding on this one to be a massive success. Expect to see a full trailer, and have some more plot details revealed in the cast panel in Hall-H.
Power Rangers
Out of all the film franchises set to launch and open up an entire extended cinematic universe, Lionsgate’s Power Rangers film is easily the most laughable, mostly just because the source material is based off the Saturday morning children’s show. But there are some interesting wrinkles included with the new Power Rangers film. You might ask yourself, “How are you going to make something like Zordon believable?” Easy, just cast Bryan Cranston. “Well how are you going to make people take it seriously?” Just make it the Power Rangers’ equivalent to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight. That last one was assured by one of the film’s producers, which is definitely big talk, but expect Lionsgate to back it up with some exclusive footage from the early filming at Comic-Con.
CBS’ Star Trek
2016 is the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, which is reason for plenty of fanfare alone, but the year also marks the beginning of the promotional process for the new CBS series reboot, produced by Bryan Fuller. There is a special 50th Anniversary panel featuring William Shatner, Scott Bakula, Michael Dorn, Jeri Ryan, and Brent Spiner, along with Fuller, who will likely reveal more information about the new CBS series as well, and a special “outdoor IMAX experience.”
Conan Live From Comic-Con
One thing about Conan O’Brien is that he definitely know his demographic, so for the past five years, O’Brien has picked up production and moved it to San Diego each July to simulcast live from the convention. It’s easy to understand why – the show will feature special cast guests from shows like Silicon Valley, Suicide Squad, and Game of Thrones – and the show will be broadcast with the special “Conan360” VR feature, along with exclusive Funko Pop! Vinyl figures for audience members.
Aliens Reunion
July 18th marks the 30th anniversary of James Cameron’s initial Aliens theatrical release, so it feels about right that we should see Sigourney Weaver and the Xenomorph reunite before fans at Comic-Con in the vaunted Hall-H. There will be a special Q&A panel featuring Cameron, Weaver, Bill Paxton, Lance Henricksen, Paul Reiser, Michael Biehn, and Carrie Hen. The panel will help coincide with the special 30th anniversary Blu-Ray and Digital HD edition of the film, releasing September 13th.
This post originally appeared on menstrait.com as 8 Things to watch for at Comic-Con 2016.
The post 8 Things we’re watching for at Comic-Con 2016 appeared first on Fanboy Report.