There was a lot shown at Comic-Con this year, it was unfortunate that DC which meant that we didn’t get a Wonder Woman trailer like I was hoping for but there’s more coming from them soon enough…hopefully. Anyway, There were Trailers and announcements for multiple movies, shows, comics and everything else and I’m sure that I’ve missed some but here’s the biggest stories that I saw.
Disclaimer : Yes, I covered more of the Marvel stuff than some of the other things at Comic-Con but that’s because they showed the most at the convention. It’s not my fault I can’t do 700 words on one Snowpiercer Trailer.(Although, it does look awesome!)
His Dark Materials
This one is a weird one for me. I wasn’t crazy about the Golden Compass movie and I’ve never actually read the books(I’m considering starting them though.) That being said, the trailer actually looks pretty good and from what little I know about the series it looks to be a fairly accurate portrayal of the characters and the world surrounding them.
James McAvoy and Lin-Manuel Miranda are obviously worth watching but I’ve always thought that Ruth Wilson had an incredible ability to look unsettling and beautiful at the same time which looks to be perfect for her character.
The Witcher
I mean, Henry Cavill alone was the draw for me. I always thought he was a lot better than what Warner Brothers and company would allow him to do in the DCEU but here he looks like Geralt cross right over from the game to the series. Yes, I know he’s missing the beard from the third game but he’s clean shaven most of the time in the books apparently(I also need to read those.) The actress’ for Yennefer and Ciri look great but I unfortunately don’t know much about them, it’s very early in both of their careers but maybe this’ll make them new stars.
Bottom Line, I’m really excited for this.
Snowpiercer
In the list of things that I honestly forgot was happening, Snowpiercer is getting a show. The first trailer looks great and I can’t wait to see what they add to the story.
It : Chapter 2
I mean, do I even need to say anything about this? This was one of the biggest movies of 2017 and this trailer looks insanely creepy. I love seeing the Losers all grown up and I’m really intrigued to see if the story changes from the book or if they’re going very similar to the original story.
Cats
Well, that was different.
Top Gun Maverick
Alright, I’ll admit it. I’ve never seen Top Gun. Just never have. I’m grabbing a copy of it while I’m here at the library, I promise.
That being said, This trailer looks pretty awesome.
Tales Of The Dark Multiverse
Alright look, The best comic book run of the last 20 years has been Scott Snyder’s work with Batman, The Dark Multiverse and now Justice League. He’s on Fire and I don’t see him stopping anytime soon.
Tales Of The Dark Multiverse is basically gonna be a twisted version of Marvel’s “What If…?” Comics. The first two stories that have been announced were based on Knightfall and The Death Of Superman.
The Knightfall Storyline asks the question : What if Jean Paul Valley didn’t stop being Batman? Well apparently 20 years later he would be a tyrant known as Saint Batman and our only hope would be the mysterious figure known as the Son Of Bane.
I’m really excited for this one, Snyder is co-writing this one with Kyle Higgens. Higgens is another great writer. Had one of my favorite Dick Grayson comics when he wrote Nightwing for the New 52 and one of my Favorite Batman Comics in “Gates Of Gotham” which he also co-wrote with Snyder.
It will also have art by Javier Fernandez and he’s been killing it on Justice League with Snyder. It’s always good to have repeat duos work together because they already know each other well.
The other comic announced was The Death Of Superman. This one is interesting because in this Universe, Superman never comes back. Lois turns into the Eradicator who is a darker version of Superman and she proceeds to start wiping people out instead of stopping them and saving people.
It will be written by Jeff Loveness and drawn by Brad Walker and Andrew Hennesy. This is intriguing because I don’t know any of these people except for Walker, who does really good work. The story sounds interesting so we’ll have to wait and see.
In addition, All of these books will have covers by Lee Weeks who is just fantastic, if you don’t believe me then just check out those first 2 covers above.
Also, DC has said that the other books will involve the world’s of The Judas Contract, Infinite Crisis and Blackest Knight. Plus, there will be $1 Versions of the original issues if you haven’t read them before.
The Rise Of Kylo Ren
Releasing in December, leading up to the Rise Of Skywalker is The Rise of Kylo Ren. It’s a 4 Issue Arc that will finally give us his origin story.
It will be written by Charles Soule who had this to say on Twitter : “You know the one story everyone’s dying to see, about Kylo and the Knights of Ren? That’s this.
You’re not ready (hell, I barely am.)”
This was probably my favorite Comic Book news that was released this weekend and that’s mainly because of how surprising it was. The other 2 that I’m talking about had already been hinted but this came out of nowhere and I’m ready for it. Soule is amazing and I can’t wait to see what he does with Kylo.
X-Men Comics
Well…this one’s annoying because I want all 6 books.
Let me give you a little backstory here, Jonathan Hickman has made his entire career on doing massive Story Arcs that maintain world ending threats right next to poignant character moments. He’s a true master and knowing that he’s basically the showrunner for the X-Men has made me more excited for this book than I’ve been in a long time. That being said, let’s get right to the Books. All of these titles will be releasing later this year following his Powers Of X and House Of X miniseries.
The first one is The Flagship X-Men. Very little is known about except for that it will be written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Lenil Francis Yu. That in itself is a powerhouse team but what’s even crazier is that on that cover, every single person is member of the Summers Family except for Wolverine. I’m very intrigued to see what they do with this series.
A lot of interesting stuff in this one. Not only will it feature Apocalypse working with the Team but it will be led by Captain Britain which is Betsy Braddock. Not Psylocke, Betsy Braddock. For those of you that don’t know, Betsy Braddock and Kwannon were fused together to become Psylocke in the 80’s. Comics are weird…but also amazing. Anyway, I’m really interested to see this new interpretation.
The book will be written by Tini Howard and drawn by Marcus To.
So…this is a comic where Storm, Kate Pryde and the rest of their team live as pirates on the open sea protecting Mutantkind. That sounds incredible. Bonkers…but incredible.
The book will be written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by Matteo Lolli
I won’t lie, I’ve always been a sucker for New Mutants. This team features the original 5(Except Cannonball, unfortunately) Magick, Cypher and My Boys! Chamber and Mondo! Generation X in the house!
But seriously, this team is gonna be a lot of fun and I’m really excited for this book even though there’s very few details about it besides the fact that they’re going to space on a mission alongside the Starjammers.
The book will be written by Ed Brisson with Jonathan Hickman and will be drawn by Rod Reis.
Next up is Fallen Angels. It’s a team of Cable, X-23 and Psylocke, yes, the assassin Kwannon is now separate from Betsy Braddock and now carries the mantle of Psylocke herself.
I’m really intrigued to see what they do with these characters. All of them are a little out of place and I’m excited to see X-23 in any book.
The book will be written by Bryan Edward Hill and drawn by Szymon Kudranski.
And last but certainly not least is X-Force. It will be wild and crazy and has been described as the CIA of the X-Men. The cover is even split in the half Spec-Ops, Half Counter-Intelligence. Sounds awesome!
The book will be written by Benjamin Percy and drawn by Joshua Cassara.
Marvel Studios
I honestly thought about making this a separate article but I decided that I would cover Comic-Con together like I said I would. Anyway, I’m mixing the shows and the films for Phase 4 together and will be going in the order that the movie’s will be coming out in. Just a heads up, none of the footage from the films or the shows has been released to the public yet but be sure to check out our Facebook page in the coming weeks for updates.
Black Widow (May 1st, 2020)
Let’s face it. This movie should’ve been made at least 5 years ago but hey, I’m just happy that we’re getting it at all. Scarlett Johansson is reprising her role in the film. Despite her sacrifice in Avengers : Endgame. It’s been rumored that the film will take place between Civil War and Infinity War but there’s no official timeline on it yet. Florence Pugh will be playing Yelena Belova who is another Black Widow in the comics and though they might save the Black Widow title strictly for Natasha’s character it’s assumed that she’ll be another asset from the Red Room. David Harbour, Rachel Weisz and OT Fagbenle have also been cast but all of them just have basic first names with very little to go off of who they’re really playing. We know that Taskmaster will be the villain in the film and no one’s been officially cast as the character just yet so it could easily be any of the three stars.
When it comes right down to it though, this film is Natasha’s and here’s what Johansson had to say about it at the panel : “I don’t think I could have played this iteration of Natasha 10 years ago, It would’ve been a very different film. I get to play Natasha as a fully realized woman and in all of her many facets. I’m excited for fans to see the flawed side of her, what she perceives to be the flawed side of her. And I’m looking to wipe out some of that red in my ledger, so you guys will be seeing a lot of that.”
Eternals (November 6th, 2020)
The Eternals is a very interesting property for them to use. They haven’t had a steady comic for over 10 years, they’re not incredibly well known and even fewer people know their full history. Prime Example : even as a big Marvel fan, I don’t know that much about the Eternals.
I know that Richard Madden, Salma Hayak, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Don Lee, Lia McHugh and Angelina Jolie are all starring as the Titular Group and I know that all of them are loosely based on the Greek Gods. (I.E. Richard Madden is playing Ikaris, loosely based on Icarus.) They’ve all been living among the humans of Earth for thousands of years and have been shaping certain events throughout history. Lauren Ridloff Plays Makkari who will be the MCU’s first deaf character and I’m really excited how they utilize that in the film. I personally plan on studying more about them in the lead-up to the film and I encourage you to do the same…or just keep reading my articles, either way works!
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Fall, 2020)
Ah yes, The first of the Disney+ Shows. I’ve been excited for this one ever since it was first announced back in April. The show will feature the Titular characters joining together to fight Baron Zemo played once again by the fantastic Daniel Bruhl. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan are both reprising their roles from the films and it’ll be interesting to see how they handle life in a world without their mentor and best friend leading them. I’m really glad they’re getting their own show because I’d love to see more of their character arcs. They’ve only scratched the surface with these characters.
The official storyline has been kept under wraps and no word on if Chris Evans will cameo as Steve Rogers or not.
Shang Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings (February 21st, 2021)
This is one that I honestly didn’t expect to see but I’m happy it’s happening. Shang-Chi is the master of Kung-Fu and is a consistent partner of Luke Cage and Iron Fist in the comics. He’s also been an Avenger before and has had some pretty awesome moments. I’m really excited to see what they do with his character arc and what Simu Liu can bring to the character. I actually know very little about him as an actor which is even more exciting.
The most exciting news from this though was that Tony Leung would be playing The Mandarin in this film. Leung starred as Broken Sword in Hero and Zhou Yu in Red Cliff, the latter for which he won multiple awards. He’s an amazing actor and I’m so happy he’s playing this role. He’ll be able to bring the gravitas that it deserves without it coming off as silly or stereotypical.
WandaVision (Spring 2021)
So. Many. Questions. How is Vision Back? Does Wanda pull him from another Universe which is what starts the Multiverse issues in Dr. Strange? With the rumors that The show will be set in the 1950’s does this mean time travel? Could Quicksilver come back? Will this all lead to House Of M if Wanda starts losing herself to her abilities?!?!?! AHHH!!!
Seriously though, this sounds great and I’m just happy to see more of Bettany and Olsen.
Loki (Spring 2021)
This is one that I knew was coming a while ago but it’s still really exciting to know we’re going to see more of Hiddleston as the trickster. Loki was of course killed by Thanos in Infinity War but then in Endgame we see his past self steal the tesseract and vanish in a portal. Loki is already powerful and incredibly smart and now he has an Infinity stone without the Avengers to stop him. I’m ready to see what he can do with and Hiddleston had this to say about the project : “You guys saw Avengers right? So he’s still that guy. And just about the last thing that happened to him was he got Hulk-smashed. So there’s a lot of psychological evolution that is still yet to happen. Kevin [Feige] has generally shown me what his plans are. I can’t tell you any of them, but it is one of the most exciting creative opportunities I think I’ve ever come across. This is new territory, a new world, new challenges, and I cannot wait to get started.”
Doctor Strange and The Multiverse Of Madness (May 7th, 2021)
So, while nothing about the story has officially been announced, let’s go over what has been announced : 1. It’s got Multiverse in the title which means that literally anything could happen. X-Men? Sure! Live-Action Spider-Verse? Why not? Secret Wars and the Beyonders? It just might happen. Who knows?
2. Scarlet Witch will be in the film following both the events of Endgame and of WandaVision. I mean, Chaos magic makes everything more fun. Her and Strange together is going to be amazing!
3. It will officially be the MCU’s first scary film. Kevin Feige and Scott Derrickson have both said so. Plus Madness is in the title. It’s gonna be the best ever!
What If…? (Summer 2021)
I mean, I’m excited for this show for a lot of reasons, 1. I love that it’s animated and I hope they allow different art styles for each episode much like Love, Death and Robots which just came out on Netflix a few months back.
2. I find it interesting that they’ll be bringing back multiple actors from The MCU. Hayley Atwell has already been confirmed to return as Peggy Carter but they haven’t mentioned anyone else yet. Who knows what stories they’ll be doing and who will be coming back.
3. Jeffrey Wright will be voicing The Watcher and that’s something that I didn’t know I wanted until this moment but I definitely do want that!
Hawkeye (Fall 2021)
This one is interesting because Clint Barton definitely deserves his own show and from what they’ve said it’ll focus on a lot of the fallout from his time as Ronin and will feature him training his protege Kate Bishop. Kate’s a great character and with Clint more than likely retiring after the events of Endgame it’ll be interesting to see him in a mentor role. Renner has even said that Clint wants her to be a better Hawkeye than he was.
Also, I just love the Logo. It’s straight from The Fraction and Aja run.
Thor : Love and Thunder (November 5th, 2021)
Alright, there’s a lot to unpack on this one so let’s just start off with this : The logo looks amazing. It has a very 80’s style vibe which works perfectly well following the greatness of Thor : Ragnarok.
Valkyrie is the new King of Asgard following Endgame and Tessa Thompson has said it’s time to find her Queen. Thompson is bisexual in real life and has been very open about Valkyrie being the MCU’s first LGBTQ+ Character and it looks like that will be official in this film.
And last but not least, while Thor Odinson will still be in this film, He’ll most likely be hanging out with the Guardians for the foreseeable future. That means that we’ll have someone else taking on the mantle of Thor…A Goddess Of Thunder…Wouldn’t it be awesome if it was Valkyrie?
Well, no such luck. Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster. She’s going to get the Hammer and be the new Thor. Now, I loved Jane Foster as Thor in the comics but I really haven’t enjoyed their version of her in the MCU. Granted, they could do a lot to turn her around and make her a great character but she’s just whiny in the first 2 films in my opinion.
I’m still very excited for this movie and can’t wait to see what Waititi and Company can bring to us.
Blade (TBA, Phase 5?)
All we know is that Mahershala Ali has been cast as the Day Walker and it most likely will not be a part of Phase 4. We’re assuming it’s a film but I’d be just as happy with a Show. Apparently Ali Called Marvel himself and asked if he was being considered for the role. They gave it to him almost on the spot. I fully agree with this choice.
Phase 4…Complete?
I mean, I don’t think it’s unintentional that we only saw Titles and Reveals for the next 2 years. Think about that? What About Spider-Man, Black Panther, The Guardians Of The Galaxy, Captain Marvel? We’ve just scratched the surface. Endgame wasn’t the Finale for the MCU and I’ll be here to talk about them until they stop making content…which probably isn’t going to be anytime soon.
