San Diego Comic-Con 2018 : from Doctor Who to Wonder Woman, here's what to expect
In late July, as has become an annual tradition, the world will look towards the city of San Diego, USA, for a glimpse of what's to come in the next year of film and TV.
More than 100,000 fans are expected to descend on the 48th international Comic-Con, most probably clad in cosplay (a form of costume-dressing based on a film, video game, or comic usually - think of the popular Harley Quinn costume), and excited at the prospect of being the first to catch a glimpse of a new multi-million dollar Marvel or DC production.
Comic-Con ceased to be focused on actual comic books long ago, instead it has become a playground for Hollywood's biggest production companies, looking to create excitement for their next big-budget comic book adaption or Sci-Fi series.
Last year saw first looks at everything from Stranger Things to Avengers: Infinity War (which then managed to gross a staggering $2 billion at the box office). So what can we expect this year?
Given the lukewarm reception to Justice league at the end of 2017, will the DCEU and Warner Bros attempt to claw back some of their popularity by focusing on Wonder Woman?
Despite recent successes with critically-acclaimed films such as: Thor: Raganarok, Black Panther, Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp (released in August), Marvel Studios will not be attending this year's Comic-Con and is instead choosing to focus on films currently in production. So, don't expect any word on who survives Avengers 4. But here's who will be there:
Doctor Who
The 13th Doctor, and first woman to ever be cast in the role, Jodie Whittaker will take to the stage at Comic-Con on Thursday to promote the new Doctor Who series which will air later this year.
BBC aired a 40-second teaser during the World Cup Final on Sunday, which introduced three new companions for the Doctor: Ryan (Tosin Cole), Yasmin (Mandip Gill) and Graham (Bradley Walsh). At Comic-Con this year, fans can expect to see a full trailer and find out even more about these new characters.
DC Extended Universe
Following the success of the first film, Gal Gadot will return as the Amazonian warrior in Wonder Woman 1984 next year opposite co-star Chris Pine who (spoiler alert) may not have died in the first film.
Patty Jenkins, the film's director, said earlier this year that the film will not be a love story between the two, so we can instead expect it to focus on relishing in Eighties nostalgia.
Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa and Amber Heard is set for release later this year and the trailer has already been effectively confirmed for release at Comic-Con. Similarly, the Shazam movie is also expected to premiere its trailer, as Zachary Levi has already appeared in character on the cover of Entertainment Weekly's Comic-Con special to promote the film. Shazam has a release date for early next year and its star told EW that "it's Superman meets Big". Make of that what you will.
Godzilla
Beyond the DCEU, Warner Bros. biggest offering will come in the form of a monstrous reptile more commonly known as Godzilla. Fans will get a glimpse of the alpha predator's second feature film by Warner Bros., as confirmed by the film's director Mike Dougherty in a tweet earlier in July.
Rumour has it that Warner Bros. may also release a new trailer for Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald during their slot, but nothing has been confirmed.
Bumblebee
Fox are bringing the newest Transformers spinoff to the convention and will perhaps offer another preview of the film to fans. The production company is hosting a conversation between the films director Travis Knight, Hailey Steinfeld and other cast members, the film is currently scheduled for a Christmas release in the US.
Spider-Man spin-offs
Despite Marvel studios skipping the event, Sony will still be offering its Marvel content; the studio is expected to offer fans some details about its forthcoming animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Verse, starring Hailee Steinfeld and Liev Schreiber.
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Its biggest offering, however, will be Venom, starring Tom Hardy as the long-time Spiderman antagonist, Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed also co-star. The trailer for the film has already been released, but as is usually the case, the film studio is likely to have a preview clip up its sleeve.
Glass
Universal are likely to premiere the trailer for the third film in the M. Night Shamalyan Unbreakable series, Glass, which stars Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson and James McAvoy. Following the success of Split (2016), the director is pulling McAvoy together with the stars of Unbreakable (2000), Willis and Jackson. Not much is known about the plot, but a trailer seems a given.
The studio will likely also offer horror fans a closer look at the forthcoming Halloween film, set 40 years after the first and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle who will reprise their roles as Laurie Strode and Michael Myers.
Netflix
Netflix will likely end up banking quite heavily on their Marvel series, especially The Punisher which is hosting a panel with its cast and possibly even The Defenders. The streaming giant has confirmed that it will also be offering viewers a preview of Disenchantment, a forthcoming fantasy animated show by Simpsons and Futurama creator, Matt Groening.
Jack Ryan
Not to be outdone by their rivals, Amazon are also preparing a big lineup for the convention, which will include its John Krasinksi-led series Jack Ryan, as well as The Man in the High Castle.
Jack Ryan has an August release date, so its expected that the studio will spend a lot of its slot pushing the new series, they've described it as a modern retelling of the Tom Clancy novel.
Meanwhile, The Man in the High Castle released a teaser for its third series to Twitter last week which confirmed it would return this autumn. The show is hosting a panel at the convention so it is expected that a full trailer may premiere.
San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 19 to 22
