In the last few years the San Diego Comic-Con has expanded beyond the comic book and fantasy showcase of old to become the ultimate source of news and exclusives for the latest and greatest in the movie world. Founded in 1970, as a one-day convention, the event is now a four-day extravaganza drawing in over 125,000 attendees, with this year looking to be bigger and crazier than ever.
The list of films being showcased at this year’s event will have fans rushing to see the latest sneak peaks, exclusive reveals and stars as the onslaught begins on Thursday. To help get you started on what is likely to be an eventful four days, here’s a handy guide to some of the big films to look out for.
Warner Bros. will be giving us our first look at the upcoming Green Lantern. Starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Martin Campbell, this will hopefully be the first screening of Ryan in the virtual Green Lantern costume. Warners will also be giving us a look at Sucker Punch, the new dark fantasy film from 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder as well as all the latest from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) will be hoping to win over fans of the Swedish original with his take on Let The Right One In, the imaginatively titled Let Me In, while Paul W.S. Anderson will try and resurrect the corpse of Resident Evil with Resident Evil: Afterlife. Shot in 3D using the same cameras as Avatar, can this get the franchise back on track? Director and stars hope so when they present some 3D sequences at Comic-Con.
Universal, who are having a bit of a resurgence recently, will be looking to continue their upward trend by revealing more about big hitters Paul, the alien adventure comedy starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, which actually has scenes based at Comic-Con, and the awesomely titled Cowboys & Aliens.
Cowboys is the next film for Iron Man director Jon Favreau and stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. Based on the comic book of the same name, fans are expecting a lot from this film and given the track record of director and stars we hopefully won’t be disappointed.
Perhaps the biggest expectations for this year’s Comic-Con come from Marvel’s Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Concept art and set photographs from these films have started to emerge in recent weeks but Comic-Con may give us our first glimpse of the stars in action. It may be to early for Captain America but fans will certainly be expecting footage from Thor. Marvel may also use Comic-Con to make some announcements about The Avengers, considering the rumours hitting the net recently regarding Ed Norton’s involvement. Will they finally reveal who is taking over as Bruce Banner? Will they confirm Adrien Brody as Ant Man? Whatever happens, it’s expected Marvel will announce the full Avengers roster and that for me will be the highlight of the event.
Its rumoured Christopher Nolan will also be attending Comic-Con this year. As Nolan is currently linked with both franchises could this be DC’s attempt to upstage Marvel with a major announcement about Batman and Superman? If he does show up, chances are there will be big news about one or both of these projects.
I’m hoping that we’ll also get to see something from The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. But it’s been a very quiet production and with no Paramount panel this year it’s looking like the best we’ll get is a teaser poster, but who knows.
Other film’s making an appearance at Comic-Con this year include Tron: Legacy, Battle: Los Angeles, Salt, comic book adaptation Red, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Piranha 3D, Machete, The Other Guys, The Green Hornet directed by Michel Gondry, Priest – a western styled post-apocalyptic thriller, Guillermo Del Toro’s (as producer/co Writer) latest Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark and many, many more.
Comic-Con is looking bigger and better than ever this year so keep an eye on the site for all the latest news as it hits from San Diego.
Story by Keith Bloomfield.
