These days, every major would-be blockbuster starts its journey at Comic-Con International, San Diego’s ever-growing annual convention for all things related to pop culture. Year after year, studios unspool first glimpses of their upcoming slate of big-budget movies for the press and fans in attendance, to kickstart the buzz needed to make the films hits.
Last year saw the debut of Jared Leto as the Joker in Suicide Squad, as well as an extended look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which reunited Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill onstage at Hall H, the event’s largest venue. This year promises to be just as eventful, with Warner Bros hawking Wonder Woman and a new King Kong film, Marvel Studios previewing the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy, and James Cameron reflecting on Aliens, joined by Sigourney Weaver.
Thursday 21 July
Snowden
1.45am, Hall H
Oscar-winning film-maker Oliver Stone always makes for a contentious interview, and he’s bound to be in fighting form while promoting Snowden, his upcoming sure-to-be controversial drama about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays Snowden, will join Stone for the panel, where exclusive footage from the film will be unveiled. It opens in US cinemas on 16 September.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
1pm, Hall H
Apart from a few on-set images, not much is known about Luc Besson’s follow-up to Lucy. It stars Rihanna and boasts a budget of $180m, making it the most expensive European film ever made. Although the sci-fi epic, based on the popular graphic-novel series, only finished filming last month and won’t hit movie theatres for another year, Besson is expected to screen some early footage. Said to be joining him are Dane DeHaan (the Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2), who plays the titular hero, and his romantic partner in the actioneer, model-turned-actor Cara Delevingne.
Friday 22 July
Batman: The Killing Joke
9pm, Ballroom 20
Before its one-night showing in cinemas across the US, the animated film adaptation of Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke will have its world premiere at Comic-Con. Mark Hamill, reprising his role as the Joker from the Emmy-winning animated Batman TV series from the early 90s is likely to attend. The film, which comes out on DVD and Blu-ray on 2 August, marks the first Batman entry to be rated-R – not surprising, considering the source material’s graphic sexual violence.
Saturday 23 July
Warner Bros Presentation (Suicide Squad, Kong: Skull Island, Wonder Woman, The Lego Batman Movie, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them)
11.30am, Hall H
Following the crushing disappointment that was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros is bringing their A-game to Comic-Con in a gambit to appease fans and get them riled up for their muscular slate of blockbusters. Last year, Suicide Squad debuted its first trailer at the event, offering the world its first glimpse of Jared Leto as the Joker. David Ayer’s supervillain mashup will make its second showing in Hall H, but given the film comes out in early August, all eyes will be on the other films being teased, namely Wonder Woman and Kong: Skull Island. Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, will be in attendance, alongside her love interest, Chris Pine, most likely to premiere the first trailer for the picture (all that’s been released until now, is a teaser featurette).
There’s a lot riding on Kong: Skull Island to be a huge hit for Warner Bros: it needs to build on the success of the 2014 Godzilla reboot to warrant the new cinematic universe Warner Bros have invested in – the two legendary behemoths are set to collide in one epic clash for the ages in 2020’s Godzilla vs Kong. The film’s cast, including Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson, will be on hand in Hall H to discuss the movie, which digs into the mythos of Kong’s homeland.
Aliens: 30th Anniversary
3.15pm, Hall H
To toast to the 30th anniversary of James Cameron’s game-changing sequel to Ridley Scott’s classic horror, Cameron, producer Gale Anne Hurd and cast members Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn and Paul Reiser will share stories from the making of the blockbuster. The chat is sure to be entertaining, but more exciting is the very strong likelihood that the conversation will veer towards Alien: Covenant, Ridley Scott’s sequel to Prometheus, which opens next summer, plus Neill Blomkamp’s first stab at the franchise, set to star Weaver. 20th Century Fox has remain tight-lipped on whether footage from Covenant will screen; with an August 2017 release, it’s highly likely. Don’t rule out Cameron from also dishing on his four (!) upcoming sequels to Avatar.
Marvel Studios Presentation (Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Doctor Strange)
5.30pm, Hall H
Marvel Studios typically pulls out all the stops at Comic-Con – and this year promises to be no different, with confirmed extended looks at Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy 2, as well as likely glances at Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok. Benedict Cumberbatch will attend on behalf of Doctor Strange, in which he plays the titular neurosurgeon turned superhero. Tilda Swinton, whose casting has been accused of whitewashing (the Ancient One she embodies is a Tibetan mentor in the comics), could also make a surprise appearance. Expect new footage from the film, since a trailer already debuted in April. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is meanwhile expected to debut its first trailer, ahead of its 5 May 2017 release, with its full cast in attendance.
